[Springboard] Caring for TWC

Tue Oct 9 15:22:07 EDT 2007

Jack,  I think you and George have heard what I was saying.  I've inserted a couple of comments in red in the body of your response below.

  Randy

Jack Gilles <icabombay at igc.org> wrote:
  Randy and George,  

  Thanks for getting this conversation going.  I believe it is crucial to clarify as much as we can before the Junaluska gathering so that we can arrive at a consensus on just what we need to produce/model and who is our target audience and what might be our strategy and timeline for action.

  Let's start with who we are referring to with the term TWC and who are the "carees".   At our first two gatherings it was very clear that the diaspora of the Order/Movement were continuing to engage in exciting and effective care.  We could all sense that there might be ways we can assist each other, but that is not the global contradiction that needs to be addressed in a corporate effort.

  Over the years, we had all met many fellow travelers who we would readily identify as profoundly caring colleagues, one's who would be comfortable around the table, so to speak, even though they didn't have our common memory.  We have often spoken of these as Spirit People.  We did so to differentiate them from the much larger body of caring people engaged in making a new world.  In the past, perhaps we would call these people Guardians.  Today we are trying out the term Guild.  The para-vocated ones.  Now because the para-vocated ones are self-consciously serving in obedience to the Mystery (tag on the toe so to speak), they not only are engaged in a particular field (education, health, business, media etc.) but they know that caring for TWC will require a spirit prowess that will enable TWC to stand and stand, as well as be effective.  Here in India we have called such people Transformational Leaders.   You don't need a lot of them, but without them there is no
 effective change, even when there seems to be a fairly large body of caring people in the structure.  I believe it is these people we need to target.  

  Perhaps there is work to be done to impact the millions of caring people engaged in the world, maybe toward a deepening of their consciousness and improving their effectivity.  Such an Extensive thrust would be a different target and a different product and certainly a different strategy.  But I am operating out of an image of some type of Formation process/program that would both facilitate the emergence and growth of Spirit Giants as well as networking them with a larger body of people.  It is knowing that there are colleagues in every field who are caring for TWC, with common methods, contexts, tools, etc. which is essential for a Movement to take root.  In our Maneuver terminology, I feel we are looking at an Intensive Strategy and a Probe Strategy at this time.  

  You ask, "how do we find these people?"  I think your Hawken's TWC groups is a good place to start.  But there are many other sources.  I have no special affinity for Hawken, but I think the appendix of his book identifies most of these groups you mention below so that we don't have to reinvent the wheel.  For instance, there was a group that met with Joe Jaworski around his book Synchronicity.  Quite a few of us attended several of the meetings at Mohonk NY.  Not all we met were Spirit people (as defined above), but a lot were.  I believe if we were to contact them with a "care" model they would respond.  Another is the World Cafe movement, lead by spirit colleagues Juanita Brown and David Issacs.  There is Sheryl Erickson and her group that is working on Collective Consciousness.   There is the Open Space movement.  There is the jean Houston network.  What about the ToP trainers who have grasped the spirit dimension behind the methods.   What about all the people in the
 Ecology movement that colleagues like John Cock and Herman Greene have built relationships with.  We could probably brainstorm hundreds of individuals we have met over the last 20-30 years of permeation.  Here are a couple of web sites we could make contact with.  <http://www.iofc.org/en/>  <http://www.sacredartofliving.com>  <http://www.zaadz.com>  <http://www.belovedcommunitiesnet.org>.   There are a lot more and maybe we should begin to compile a list of such sites.  

  But perhaps there is another way.  I love the Field of Dreams movie.  "If you build it, they will come."  I think Spirit people will find us, once we begin to get our mission into history.   For instance, the day after we met at Abbey North we met some old Canadian colleagues who came to visit John & Thea.  It didn't take 10 minutes of conversation for them to grasp what we were trying to do in regards to Caring for TWC and the concept of The Guild.  They are involved with the Florence Nightengale movement for the nursing profession.  Immediately they were able to rattle off exactly the people we were talking about in the movement.  They began to see how we might enable these Spirit people to be effective with our methods, models, training etc.  And the relationship we already have through past ICA work became immediately apparent.  One of the key organizers is a colleague from Arlington VA who helped set up the 84 Delhi event (one of the Magnificent Seven).  I talked
 with her and she is ready to go on this.  I think there are colleagues in many different Guild areas that could identify the kinds of people we need to serve.  

  So in general, I don't think finding people will be the problem for us, once we have defined and discerned the target audience.  This was precisely my point, to identify the target.  What will be difficult will be deciding what to offer, and to spell out what the form(s) need to be.  Some things can wait for refinement.  I know when the original curriculum was developed we only taught a few in depth (RS-I, CS-I, RS IIIA, CS IIIA) and covered the others mostly in the Academy.   It is in defining what Spirit people need to become the Giants and to be able to lead "Guilds" that will be critical.  Again, the conversation on the nursing movement was very helpful on what the spirit leaders needed to be able to care for that movement.  But we need a lot more conversations to begin to flesh out models.  We need to find to get a few of these people around the gatherings like Junaluska.  

  It wouldn't be a bad place to begin if we were to brainstorm under the categories of K-D-B, such as Intellectual Methods, Social Methods and Spirit Methods.  But we need more than methods.  We need models, constructs, exercises, resources, networks, contexts, etc.  We need to discern and name what is the uniqueness we have to offer, that is not available from other sources.  For instance, there are dozens and dozens of Spiritual Retreats and Consciousness events that one can participate in.  These Care constructs/opportunities need not be duplicated.  Whatever we pull together must be unique and fill a void, and/or meet a contradiction that is presently not being met.   That is why I believe we need to begin to work with some proto-guilds like what David and Margaret Scott are doing with Native American education group in Montana.

  Enough for now, I need to get to bed!!  Thanks for stirring the pot and I hope lots more of our Springboard listserv gets their thoughts into the conversation.

  G&P,

  Jack 
    On Oct 9, 2007, at 8:44 PM, M. George Walters wrote:

      It is probably like what we did in India, Kenya, and elsewhere in creating the band of 24 – we looked for the sensitive and responsive ones in Nava Gram Prayas in India, for instance.

  Holcombe’s paper is probably a very good take off point. Where you find anyone concerned with innocent human suffering, denial of participation, and downright oppression, is good. Wanda Holcombe, Jean Watts and Terry Bergdahl are working with conflict resolution among Muslim, Christian and Jewish factions in the Middle East and old Eastern Block countries right now and probably could talk to us about how they find and identify good people to work with. The Patterson’s work in Somalia and Kenya should be another source of insight.

  Vinode and Kamale Parekh and Kevin Balm have gone deep into the Indian culture and John and Ann Epps, the Malaysian culture and will also have insights about “those who care” who are their strong colleagues. Others in China, Japan, etc. who have gone into those cultures rooted in Buddhism, Shintoism, etc. should also speak. Of course Jack’s work has uncovered those who care for decades now.

  The local church in any country (synagogue, mosque, congregations, etc) is still a place to look.

    George

  4240 Sandy Shores Dr
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  From: springboard-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:springboard-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of R Williams
Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 10:41
To: Springboard Dialogue
Subject: Re: [Springboard] Prayer of Gratitude

    George,

    What you say is true.  Thanks to Niebuhr, et al, we know them when we see them.  But from a practical perspective, where we usually went back then to find them was the local congregation.  Where do we go now?  What comes to mind for me is Paul Hawken's mini-movements as described in the paper Holcombe sent to us some time ago, which Hawken expounded on in his recent book Blessed Unrest.

    Randy

"M. George Walters" <m.george.walters at verizon.net> wrote:

      Randy

    Good question.

    I think we said those who care we named the church, and localis us gave us a focal point to care for them.

    Much as we named that final reality – GOD - that which gives and takes all.

    We also said that care might be awakened in anyone.

    The Niebuhr Paper may still give us our best clues – “thinking, organization and action” aimed at caring for others.

      George

    4240 Sandy Shores Dr

    Lutz, FL 33558

    USA

    Tel: 813-948-7267

    Mob: 913-505-9041

    Fax: 813-948-4167

    Em: m.george.walters at verizon.net

---------------------------------

    From: springboard-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:springboard-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of R Williams
Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 10:02
To: Springboard Dialogue
Subject: Re: [Springboard] Prayer of Gratitude

      Jack,

      I was just reflecting, 30 years ago when we became aware that our mission was to be "those who care for those who care" we identified those who care as the local church.  Our curriculum and initial HDPs were created to awaken and engage them.  How and who do we identify today as being "those who care" whom we are called to serve?

      Randy

Jack Gilles <icabombay at igc.org> wrote:

      Dear Colleagues,

Last week I did the first module of our modified TLL for a group of 
young managers who are responsible for an Aluminum plant near 
Mumbai. This module was focused on Individual Transformation. 
Since the first day (October 2nd) was Gandhi's birthday (and mine) I 
decided to pull the issue of transformation through his life. I used 
the image many of you know of Michaelangelo's David in which he said 
that David was already in the stone and all he did was to chip away 
the pieces that revealed it. (I've heard the same story about the 
Chinese woodcarver). The point being that the difference between 
transformation and change is that transformation is about revealing 
what is to be in the midst of what is now. I then did an extensive 
spin on the understanding of the implicate order (the OW in the midst 
of TW). I asked them what would it take to release the Gandhi within 
each of them? There was a lot of RS-I like awe in the room. I 
spoke of transparency and of living the brokenness of life. There 
was much more, but you get the drift. The second day I did a spin on 
the Three Great Awakenings of life. In our language they are about 
Justification, Sanctification and Vocation (decision to be the 
Church). The first is the awakening to your humanness, the 
indicative freedom at the core of your being, In the second 
awakening I talked about the eternal YES that is at the heart of 
everything, every event and every person. The third awakening comes 
more slowly, but if you stay awake in the reality of the first two 
awakenings then the Mystery of Life will open the doors and reveal 
the vocation for your life.

Now the point of all this description (there was much, much more) is 
to state the context for my gratitude. I was in rare form, I was ten 
feet tall these three days. But if I was ten feet tall it is because 
I was standing on the shoulders of you and so many other of our 
colleagues. I was deeply aware that anything I had to say was 
because of the life I received and lived in the Order. And the fact 
that so many are still standing in these eternal realities gave me 
courage to declare the possibility to those who were in the 
program. I may have added some of my style to the work, but the 
content credit belongs to you. And I hope you will continue to hold 
me accountable to be the Presence of what I know to be true. In the 
beginning was the Word, and at the end there is the Word and because 
of that reality we can live our life in abundance and fulfillment.

Grace & Peace,

Jack

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