[Oe List ...] [Dialogue] identifying trends

Thu Apr 10 20:10:34 EDT 2008

Dear folks:

G'day again!

(1)

I have also been wondering about "connecting all the issues".  In my every-second-day phone chats with Roger Standfield (from the genealogical line that includes the "d") we roam the territory of the days events and the centuries' overviews, and try to make sense of it.  Sense?  It has to be more than intellectual.  There's a wonderful line in Leonard Bernstein's "Mass" - "You can fashion a rebuttal that's as subtle as a sword, but you cannot abolish the Word of the Lord" - it needs some translation, I know.  There's also a phrase from Werner Erhard (what's he doing these days?) about "understanding is the booby prize" - my sense was that he was addressing those people who want to have a complete understanding of something before engaging in it - and I very much understand that propensity from inside, at times, an academic environment.

(2)

Lately I've been using good old Robert Zimmerman's line "There's something happening, but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr Jones?"  One example:  last nigh I attended a ceremony and dinner for the re-opening of the Religious Centre at Flinders University.  The new name is Oasis - Faith  Spirit  Community.  Go to Flinders University and search for Oasis for more details.  It's a multi-faith (and beyond) centre for students and staff to drop into, to have crosss-disciplinary discussions in, for overseas students to share their traditions etc.  Chaplains and blessings came from Christian (Uniting Church, Lutheran, Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, and LDS), Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Sikh, Baha'i, Pagan and Secular Humanist traditions.  Present were assorted academics (vice-chancellors past and present), the chancellor (a former governor of the state), a retired Anglican archbishop, and our current lieutenant governor (a Vietnamese migrant a few decades ago).  An event which would been unimaginable some decades ago.  Lots of interaction over dinner - at my table there were two Buddhists, two Sikhs and two LDS - some good discussion about how the LDS have changed over the years!

Over the past few year there's been lots of discussion at Oasis about "what's happening, Mr Jones" - about spirituality, issues of purpose and meaning, cross-disciplinary issues that don't seem to be touched in academic courses (yet!).  Where else would you walk into a chat about Tarot cards with Catholic, Buddhist and Pagan chaplins?  (Does it parallel closing your eyes and putting your finger on a Bible verse - and seeing what it "says" to you?)  The Buddhist chaplain is an ex-Methodist who remembers hymns by their number in the Methodist Hymn Book - "Yay, John Wesley, Isaac Watts and co!"

Also at the ceremony etc were Brian and Rhonda Robins, Malcolm and Gloria McArthur (Malcolm was active in EI in the late 60s),  Don Catford (the Maitland cadre, visited by Joe Cocker in 1970, and home of Doug and Julie McCauley), Robin and Caroline Trebilcock (Robin was active in EI back when), Norman Habel (famous Lutheran OT, Hebrew and Earth Bible scholar) and maybe others that some of you might know.

(3) 

Another thread of "what's happening, Mr Jones" is about decision-making structures - echoed by the Time cover "It's the voters, stupid!"  Check our the Australia 2020 Summit on the www.  There's a 1000-people gathering in Canberra at the end of the month, but there are also procedures (of a sort) for local communities, schools and individuals - to put in submissions.  One of the 10 categories has to do with "governance" - looking at a political system that attracts cynicism, and looking at other ways of doing things.  There are the predictable comments like "Doesn't the government have any ideas of its own?" from conservative commentators, but they seem to ignore the underlying interest when people have had a good participative experience.

'Nuff for now.  Go well.

See ya!

Frank Bremner
(Where my local SANFL team, Sturt, are on top, and where my AFL team Adelaide (the Crows) beat rivals Port Adelaide last Sunday in Showdown XXIV!  Which might make sense to some of you!))

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:47:46 -0500From: dm14 at txstate.eduTo: oe at wedgeblade.netSubject: Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] identifying trends
Terry & I had the pleasure and wonder of visiting the Santa Fe Institute last month.  Check out what they are doing at http://www.santafe.edu/about/Very interesting resource.Diann McCabeOn 4/10/08 12:32 PM, "Janice Ulangca" <aulangca at stny.rr.com> wrote:
Thanks George, Diann, Jack and all.  Identifying trends then contradictions is a critical need.  Otherwise good things we're doing are just dealing with pieces, with no big picture context. We know there's something better!  Others are hungry for it too. Abe and I met the Institutes and Order after the year of reading 1,000 books (1971?) and getting that wisdom into the social process triangles.  It may be time for that kind of comprehensiveness again.  This time the future of the planet is obviously at stake - not just the future of the church.  A great web site seems just the way to do it, with a facilitation team.  If $ are in the way, I can help with a few hundred.  Can we take up a collection?Janice Ulangca
----- Original Message -----  From:  Jack Gilles <mailto:icabombay at igc.org>    To: Order Ecumenical Community <mailto:oe at wedgeblade.net>   Cc: Colleague Dialogue <mailto:dialogue at wedgeblade.net>   Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 12:32  PM Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue]  Wal-Mart and the weapons of massdestruction Dear Colleagues,  This question of a friendly web site for in-depth dialogue and research  on issues and contradictions is one we discussed at the Denver Springboard  meeting.  We are presently working on such a web page design.  Since  it will be more complicated, or should I say sophisticated, than our present  repository page it will take some amount of time and work as well as a bigger  server to accomplish.  We are presently looking at how to raise the money  to do this and would appreciate anyone's help in this regard.  Jack Gilles on behalf of the Springboard Venture group   On Apr 10, 2008, at 10:19 AM, Diann McCabe wrote: 
I second your request, George.  Spent 3 hours  last night planning for the next few meetings of Democracy for Texas (Hays  County) and we kept getting sidetracked by very complicated issues that came  up, from where we buy our light bulbs to Carter’s ideas on Palestine,  realizing that all things really do connect.   I confess that our  method last night was one of sitting around a table with lists in front of  us.  Our inability (on the part of all of us) to gain “insight into the  trends” is frustrating.  Technology to do a brainstorm website, etc.,  might be a first start.  Again, I second the motion but don’t have a  suggestion for now.--Diann McCabeOn 4/10/08 9:03 AM, "George  Holcombe" <geowanda at earthlink.net>  wrote: 
This string  of responses makes me wonder if any one of us out there has the technology  to do a brainstorm website that could lead to a gestalted chart, so we may  have some insight into the trends?  The more I think about  our concerns with Wal Mart, it seems to stretch out to the world.  I  am reminded of Rod Wilson's point, repeatedly made, that rail is the  cheapest most efficient form of transportation, yet, this nation chose  shipping by truck, neither cheaper or efficient, has had impact not only  on the climate, and our roadways (taxes, repairs, etc.), but now plays a  big part in increasing prices, especially for the 1,000 mile salad greens,  and presents a threat to continuing the whole system of supply.  The  very well planned "Disaster Capitalism" which is so entrenched in our  thinking, life style and politics, threatens to become a house of cards.   With Chinese and other Asian workers beginning to strike for higher  wages, the source of cheap goods sold in the West may be running its  course.  The 300% rise in grains is threatening both the food supply  and economies of many countries, creating what is being termed the "World  Food Crises."  The faltering middle class, not only in the U.S. (I  understand it is disappearing in other parts of the world) and the hugh  gains among the super wealthy, present an imbalance not seen before in  history.  The very interesting proposal in the U.S. congress to begin  a World-wide Marshall plan like that after WWII is a new direction in  thinking of American politics.  The growth and speed of the internet,  which is building many new consciousnesses and connectivities, is shifting  the way we think and do things.  The list goes on, and the thing that  keeps hitting me is that this is not the gradual change of  "business  as usual," but more like the falling into the sea of the polar bears,  something very radical is taking place.  There are lots of books  seemingly about this, but on reflection, I feel like they are written by  several of the blind reporting on the part of the elephant they're  touching.  I also notice that sometimes I have a hard time deciding  if this is economic, cultural or political. Any thoughts?   Even better any ways to gather the input of this bunch into a trends  analysis? George  Holcombe14900 Yellowleaf Tr.Austin, TX 78728Home:  512/252-2756Mobile 512/294-5952geowanda at earthlink.net 

_______________________________________________Dialogue  mailing listDialogue at wedgeblade.nethttp://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/dialogue_wedgeblade.net_______________________________________________OE  mailing listOE at wedgeblade.nethttp://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/oe_wedgeblade.net 

_______________________________________________OE mailing  listOE at wedgeblade.nethttp://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/oe_wedgeblade.net

_______________________________________________OE mailing listOE at wedgeblade.nethttp://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/oe_wedgeblade.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://wedgeblade.net/pipermail/oe_wedgeblade.net/attachments/20080411/5f0eebba/attachment.html 