Source: SolSeed:Helping Life Thrive, On Earth And Beyond
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SolSeed archive migration
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[SolSeed](/SolSeed) < [Media](/Media) < **SolSeed book**
In book form, the ideas that make up [SolSeed](/SolSeed) will be much more "solid" than they are on this wiki--that is, while a wiki is designed to be easy to change, a book can only be revised relatively rarely. Thus, it's important to plan carefully to ensure that the book represents the best current consensus we can establish about what [SolSeed](/SolSeed) is, where it came from, and what it intends to become.
Some ideas for this iteration of the book could be drawn from [Ben](/Ben)'s initial work on a previous iteration at [AboutUs.org](http://www.aboutus.org/Becoming_Earthseed:_A_Survival_Guide_for_the_Human_Race).
### Purpose
The purpose of this book is to give both the rider and the elephant a clear picture of what the SolSeed experiment is and a visceral understanding of why it is important even if the person reading the book has never heard of SolSeed before. This book will inspire those who already resonate with the values of the SolSeed Movement, but don't realize that such a movement exists. It will also help us clarify our thinking about the nature of our organization and what we stand for.
Recipe for writing that engages the elephant: 1) Tell a story, 2) tease out the main point from the story, 3) illustrate the main point and a few axioms with a couple more stories.
We need to answer Why before we talk about What and How. The first part of the book addresses Why and the rest talks about How and What.
### Title
*SolSeed: Helping Life Thrive, On Earth And Beyond*
### Tentative Table of Contents
Italicized sections are not written yet.
[Preface by Brandon](/SolSeed_book_preface)
- Happy in the sun
- More or less alive
#### Part 1: A Vision for Life
Chapter 1: [Life ... it's our epic story!](/Life_..._it's_our_epic_story!)
- Life is worthy of veneration
- Worthy, but not perfect
- The upward spiral of life
- The "body of all life"
- Life has invested in us
- Who you are
- Your calling
Chapter 2: [Bringing life to ourselves](/Bringing_life_to_ourselves)
- Being is where doing comes from
- Getting into action
- Science-based spirituality
- Religion-shaped hole
- Multiple selves
- The divided self
- The motivation paradox
- Passion, empathy, and wisdom
Chapter 3: [Bringing life to each other and our communities](/Bringing_life_to_each_other_and_our_communities)
- Relationship is critical
- Benefits of relationship
- Relationship is a muscle
- Relationship is a skill
- Supporting Positive Identities
- From the Individual to the Group
- Competition
- Cooperation
- Collaboration
- Supporting earnest beginners
- Clubs and Supportive Organizations
- Coaching, not just for athletes
- Our eco-village vision
- The broader movement
- Gatherings of Kindred
Chapter 4: [Bringing life to our world](/Bringing_life_to_our_world)
- A scientific creation myth
- Two ways of living
- People are animals too
- Avoiding the other extreme
- An end to progress?
- Crossing the gap
- What can I do?
#### Part 2: The SolSeed Movement
Chapter 5: [Thriving on Earth](/Thriving_on_Earth)
- Defining what we mean by "Starfarer"
- Growing the movement
- Spiritual practices
- Forming SolSeed communities
- Gatherings of kindred
- SolSeed businesses
- SolSeed education
Chapter 6: [Taking Root Amongst the Stars](/Taking_Root_Amongst_the_Stars)
- Orbiting mini-worlds
- Biospheres 3, 4, 5, etc.
- Terraforming/ecopoeisis: a multi-species joint venture
- Adapting to new worlds
- Generations between the stars
- On our own, far from home
- Coexisting with alien biospheres
- Uplift and psychopoeisis
Chapter 7: [Growing at the Speed of Gaia](/Growing_at_the_Speed_of_Gaia)
- The Misinformation of Science Fiction
- The Speed of Gaia
- The Icy Outer Worlds of Solar Systems
- *Dyson Trees (need to mention Dyson and give a brief description of how such a tree could survive)*
- *Living Seed Catapults*
- Getting to Know Our Neighbours at the Speed of Gaia
- Diversity Through Sluggishness
- *Imagining a human culture with the patience of Gaia?*
Chapter 8: [Getting Involved](/Getting_Involved)
- Tell the world who you are
- *Attend events*
- Cultivate a topical community
- *Join the work bees*
- *More?*
### Possible images to include
#### Public-domain photos created by/for NASA
#### Free stock photos from [Stock.xchng](http://www.sxc.hu/)
#### Royalty-free, fairly cheap stock photos from [iStockphoto](http://www.istockphoto.com/)
- [Hikers](http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-4065551-trekkers.php)
- [Village with solar roofs](http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-7406736-village-with-solar-panel-houses.php)
- [Solar panels](http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-13092836-photovoltaic.php)
- [Wind turbines](http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-1831073-wind-energy.php)
- [Biosphere 2](http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-1725583-biosphere-2-arizona.php)
- [Futuristic planetarium](http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-5658498-futuristic-architecture-planetarium-buenos-aires.php)
- [CGI rendering of alien plants](http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-9607935-alien-lake-pod-plants-v1.php)
#### Other
- [Terraforming Mars](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MarsTransitionV.jpg) (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license)
- [Drawing of a space colony](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/75489235/the-Agency-Collection) (royalty-free but very expensive)