August 26, 2012: Online Work Bee

Revision 42632

Date
Author
SolSeed archive migration
Comment
Create maintainable Markdown archive revision
Size
24175 bytes
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+272 bytes

Agenda

Items for future meetings

Check In

too small and stained

held)

Weekly Events Logistics

Abbreviated Work-Bee and Service Monday Sept 3, 1:30pm PDT ... service when

Sequoia gets up (Shelley) Rotation: Brandon, Eric, Jerry?, Shelley, Ben

In-person service with Vliets: Saturday 10am Ottawa Seeing Nature Excursion: Monday Sept 3 1400 EDT (11 am PDT)

WWWs from last time

Wednesday

ongoing

by Friday

ongoing

WWWs

ongoing

ongoing

Space Elevator Conference

Ben has until this Friday to turn in a PowerPoint for his presentation; the

actual talk is on the 27th

like to give a practice talk before submitting the PowerPoint

talk

One Page Plan

Agenda

to take?)

Where do you want us to be in 20 yrs? Ben ... in 20 yrs I want us to have built an institution that perpetuates our

goals, (whether it's an ecovillage or a company, etc), particular the unique

aspect of being interested in Life both on Earth and in space Eric ... in 20 yrs I would like to have a climate-controlled greenhouse

project in the North growing trees that we've bred that are able to withstand

really harsh environments, and making money to support itself by growing food

for people in the North. The third thing it would be doing is Biosphere 2

type closed-ecosystem-life-support testing. And we would have a network of

groups across the continent (maybe around the world) who are inspired by this

work and who are supporting it.

solid spiritual or religious practice that makes it inconceivable to the

group that it would ever splinter or fall apart (this is the direction of

their whole life) ... the communities could be doing various projects like

biospheres, organic gardening, etc, but in any case the work is grounded in a

larger spiritual context/vision

contributors, meaning children of members who joined, who found the practice

meaningful and voluntarily continued their involvement as they became adults

... I would like to see the Kindred network being very much aware of itself

and having a wide onramp in society, specifically at least 3 strong

intentional societies, one of which is SolSeed, and several other fledglings,

all of which meet in person once a year for a big celebration, and

communicate regularly online and through an exchange program ... these

societies would be characterized by people who have shining eyes when they

talk about their life's work and who have found the support they need to

pursue that life's work

Where do you want us to be in 10 yrs?

place, even if they aren't maybe big enough yet to support the greenhouse

project, but they are working toward helping us ... they will be working

toward greening their own communities, building ecovillages, building green

cities

not be living together, but have a shared spiritual practice and shared goals

one organized institution, as described in my 20-years statement, whether

they are in the same place or not; a lot of them would probably have to be,

but virtual technology may allow multi-location groups to be more powerful.

can point to in terms of committed members, religious traditions that give

shape and meaning to our lives, and we've collected and are nurturing several

other groups as they are building the same for themselves ... we've

identified our spiritual ancestors and our past and present teachers, and are

deeply plugged into our entire narrative (past, present, and future)

Where do you want us to be in 5 yrs? Ben ... in 5 yrs I would like us to 10 members that are actively working on

things, and some degree of people in the relevant topical communities knowing

about us ... i.e. we've joined the communities that are working in the

general directions we're working. Eric ... in 5 years I would like us to have 50 contributing members and many

more members that are on and off taking part in thing. Like Ben said, I'd

like us to have made alliances with other groups that have similar goals and

I would see them being environmental groups a lot of times (in addition to

space groups).

the soil, building things, having celebrations etc) rather than ideation

(figuring out who we are and where we're going), whatever size we are

Core Values/Beliefs

Respecting and cherishing life is the reason for everything we do.

possibility. This is one of the reasons we value life so much.

defined as "the body of all life on Earth," encompassing every human culture

and belief system as well as all other species. This is a statement of

belief in the Gaia hypothesis, at least as a valid metaphor. This connects

particularly to the "Openness/welcoming differences" practice below.

different visceral content ... having a name gives it a kind of personhood

(with a name, it brings it to life ... not just a corpse)

saying "I am Life itself" is a valid and true way of looking at the world

(though not the only one) ... further, there is power in that perspective ...

it is a perspective that is inaccessible to most of the world

to a commentary

our business cards and banner) ... could relate to the more universal ethic

through conferences bringing communities together in a network

a metaphor for the immense power of society to do things that its individual

members could not.

achieve more than its individual members could ever achieve. The goal of

fulfilling The Destiny is only possible throught this mechanism.

can achieve much more than each individual species could achieve on their

own. In fact without the diversity of the biosphere, most species (trying to

survive alone) would die off.

practice of carving out time for living according to our aspirations, makes

those activities effortless and joyful rather than a slog. If your friends

and family and social activities are all in support of your aspirations ...

then just hanging out is moving toward your aspirations (your activities

naturally support the aspirations) ... there isn't the need to "add them to

your life" ... your life already has them built in

protect the future of life, we must help it grow beyond Earth and even

beyond the Solar system, so it can never be wiped out. More

importantly, our belief in this audaciously optimistic goal, and in the epic

story of a future with life thriving on many worlds, is central to defining

the SolSeed Movement.

value is respect for all life.

"bring terrestrial life to as many worlds as possible," which could lead to

running over other biospheres

injustice, life will still be precious

"shy violet" term

so worries about us taking over everything may not be required. We won't

know until we go and see. But we can't go look without establishing

ourselves along the way.

worldview, the principle that observing the world is a far better route to

knowledge than religious texts and magical thinking. We talk about Gaia,

a controversial scientific concept, and about a Destiny that sounds like a

prophecy, but we admit that these are stories, not knowledge. We believe in

the Destiny as a worthy and inspiring goal and Gaia as a useful and inspiring

metaphor, but what we believe to be true (or rather, as close to the

truth as we can presently get) is based around mainstream science.

accept the answers from science and then base our religion on them

violation of sanctity

letting people starve if they can't or won't work? are those people not

worthy of being cared for?

in harmful competition with other groups

rebel. We are being creative in a realm (religion) that is generally

conservative. Oddly, many would assume that we're starting a new religion so

the founder can aggrandize himself and have authority over cult followers (as

many recent "new religions" have done), but this is the opposite of true.

And so we reject authority within SolSeed partly because we don't want to be

like that and partly because we hold strong democratic/open-source values.

cloudy, rainy areas could send water to trees in sunny, dry areas and get

sugar in return ... the trees could establish a "tyranny"

protect people from harm, are authorities that we could respect. May exert

authority as long as it's in directions approved by a majority of the

citizenry?

group than about me as an individual, and I see "religions controlling

people" as a good thing if translated as "helping me control myself," even if

not always in ways I would choose on my own

freedom to follow theirs? Also, science requires freedom from oppressive

ideology that tells people certain things can't be true. Also, creativity

and making beauty and possibility happen seem to require freedom if you're

intelligent (or millions of years of evolutionary time otherwise). On the

other hand, we support limiting people's freedom to "desecrate the sanctity

of nature" and harm other living beings.

Practices

or even bringing one other world to life, is still a dream for the future,

but that shouldn't stop us from embracing its implications in the present.

"Starfarer" is a way of life, not a job description. It involves optimism,

openness to audacious possibilities, and cultivating

virtues that will serve us well when we carry

life to the stars. It also involves presence and mindfulness of the now,

because only by taking action in the present can we build the future we seek.

(from Seeing Nature)

the practices of staying healthy, stimulating our minds, and maintaining a

fulfilling spiritual practice (daily meditation, weekly services, quarterly

celebrations of the changing seasons). If we don't look after ourselves, we

will be in no condition to pursue any of our goals.

present needs ... Eric's metaphor: this is the brake pedal and "Be Starfarer

now" is the gas pedal

with strong ties to other groups that value life, we need to

understand that shared values and/or purpose doesn't mean we will all think

alike. Because we are all precious SolSeed, we welcome people regardless of

these differences. Also, as our scientific worldview requires, we

acknowledge that anything we believe could be wrong. We believe in

practicing the welcoming of those with different ideas and beliefs with

Empathy and respectful discussion and debate.

been white and affluent ... maybe we should think about eventually starting a

SolSeed affirmative-action program?

not seek large-scale change by a direct route. Instead, we look for small

actions that are well-positioned to set off a cascade of larger changes in

the future. The "upstream" metaphor comes from Paul Krafel's film *[The

Upward Spiral](/The_

Upward_Spiral)*, in which he describes redirecting tiny rivulets of

rainwater so they soak into the soil and promote life, rather than forming

fast-flowing streams that cut the land into steep, lifeless gullies.

become a negative practice (continuing work that we no longer value), but it

would help us avoid taking on too many projects with no clear way to persist

with all of them.

item on the list take over if it's not the most valuable thing to work on

our events, and don't ask for money in return for attendance.

people in need and support worthy causes, separate from our work with friends

and members.

Purpose/North Star

To bring life to ourselves, each other, our communities, our planet, and even

unto the galaxy.

Actions

Path 1: Articulate our detailed vision for a SolSeed way of life (book) > Build

Movement (Recruit and use practice/good work to attract members) > Build

Cottage Space/Forest Industries > Grow Villages around Industries Path 2: Articulate our detailed vision for a SolSeed way of life (book) > Adopt and

refine practice (build our lives) ... includes building one anchor part of

one Village > Recruit second anchor part of that same Village > Repeat

open-source "space hacking" route

work

Targets (3 Years)

Year Ending: 12/31/2012

another world, eventually another star system.

website, the [Facebook

page](http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=232314258760), books, videos, events, and perhaps a blog and/or other Web presence).

2012 1 Year Goals

(possibly as two books/parts) and publish it

practice, weekly services, and big celebrations for the solstices and

equinoxes)

Draft 2012 3rd Quarter Goals, due 9/30/2012

impact of at least four projects.

includes at least 20 years in its arc

suitable for printing and prominently displaying in our living spaces

Maintenance

Drip Emails

Once a week for 12 weeks send a picture and very short email with a few links

if people want to go deeper

Brandon's list, with comments

Week 1: The Upward Spiral ... concepts from Paul's movie

Week 2: The Divided Mind (Elephant and Rider) ... concepts from Jonathan's

book, The Happiness Hypothesis

Week 3: The Body of all Life ... Gaia theory?

Week 4: Passion ... Happy in the Sun (Elephant + Rider)

Week 5: Life has invested in us ... probably about how the harm we've done to

the biosphere is an "investment" that we need to pay back with interest by

doing something good that outweighs the harm ... concepts from our book:

Life ... it's our epic story!#Life has invested in us

Week 6: Empathy is transcendant ... material from Jonathan's other book,

The Righteous Mind

Week 7: TheDestiny ... our ultimate long-term goals as a religion ... does it

make sense to put this earlier, so people interested in space don't get

impatient and those who are dubious find out earlier that this isn't for

them?

Week 8: Perspective (skinbag, life itself) ... Buddhist concepts?

Week 9: Precious and Worthy ... one email is unlikely to be enough to

convince people who think humans aren't worthy

Week 10: Wisdom ... Habit and Instinct ... Regular Practice ... maybe also

talk about balancing reason and emotion (i.e. more Elephant and Rider)?

Week 11: The Critical Role of Religion ... need to define religion more

broadly (and more specifically?) than usual

Week 12: More or Less Alive ... Bring Life ... good general topic to wrap

things up

Other ideas

unless we go out to other worlds to create new wilderness

in space

programs - starships. (or maybe things a bit more near-term :-)

General comments

tweaks

Evaluation

didn't get very far in terms of analyzing the one page plan on paper ...

we're finding our path toward thinking at a higher strategic level