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| Send David To JFKU |
372 Views |
| posted on Monday, June 02, 2008 |
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Hello Everyone!
I'm going to write this letter in reverse -- beginning with a request for your help and then explaining how helping me benefits you and pertains to NHNE.
There is a major integral conference taking place at the John F. Kennedy University from August 7th through 10th. Billed as "the world's first biennial academic conference on Integral Theory", the conference organizers are expecting some 500 people to attend from all over the world.
http://www.integraltheoryconference.stirsite.com/
At least 10 people (possibly more) are planning to attend from Sedona. For a town our size (12,000), this is a huge presence. And five of the 10 people coming from Sedona are part of our local Leadership Team.
Meanwhile, I've learned that community organizers from other parts of the world are also planning to attend this conference. Since this conference is primarily designed for "academics", it does not provide time or space for community organizers to meet one another. But many organizers are coming anyway, and some of them, like me, are coming primarily to meet with other organizers.
The bottom line is that this conference is shaping up to be a breakthrough event. Personally, I believe this gathering is going to help launch a concerted effort to introduce communities around the world to integral principles and, by extension, give an increasing number of people the tools they need to surf the tidal waves that are beginning to crash into our individual and collective shores (more about this in a moment).
While all this is happening, the economy is crashing, which has dramatically affected my ability to come up with the money I need to attend this conference. So I'm turning to you for help. The conference costs are:
Registration: $445.00
Room: $427.00
Food and Traveling Costs: $500.00 (Estimate)
Total Cost: $1372.00
I'll be running a mini fund-raiser over the next few days to raise this money. If you have the ability (and I know many of you are as financially strapped as I am right now), I'll be grateful for whatever you can contribute.
Now let me take a step back and talk about the big picture.
In January of this year, I wrote about "my growing sense that the world has finally crossed into dangerously unstable territory, on multiple fronts: the economy, peak oil, global warming, political instability, and other storm clouds are now beginning to whip one another into hurricane force winds. I believe, therefore, that the time has come to prepare for significant disruptions".
In response to these concerns I mentioned that I planned to spend as much time as I could "building community, setting up specialized social networks, and preparing my family, friends, and community for challenging times."
I also promised to keep all of you in the loop and, as I was able, begin providing you "with concrete tools you can use to make a significant difference in your world".
Five months later, there is now a thriving integrally-informed community in Sedona, Arizona. We've been meeting every week since the end of December and now have 85 people who are part of our local integral community. We also have a thriving social network up and running, complete with member profiles, a growing collection of outstanding integral resources, and links to important integral organizations and resources. While "integral Sedona" is a private network that is available only to residents of Sedona and our surrounding communities, I have created a mirror site for NHNE. "Integral NHNE" currently has 62 members and is open to anyone who has an interest in joining. Thus, the tools, insights, resources we've been gathering in Sedona are also available to all of you. Integral NHNE is not yet as dynamic as Integral Sedona, but eventually, I expect the lights to go on there, too, and it will become a place where individuals and communities can find the resources, inspiration, and connections they need to move to higher, deeper levels.
Meanwhile, I've been slowly laying the groundwork to help others build integrally-informed communities in their part of the world. Specifically, I have created a network for grassroots community organizers and have also begun to form an umbrella organization, called "Integral P2P International" (iP2Pi):
Integral Community Organizers
iP2Pi
And yesterday, I launched another website to showcase two written pieces that have grown out of my involvement with Integral Sedona: "The Integral Relationship Preamble" and "What Is Integral?":
http://www.integralrelationshippreamble.com/
So what's the point of all of this and what does it have to do with you and NHNE?
In scanning the array of potential disasters that are rapidly headed our way I could only identify one response that was broad, deep, and inspired enough to deal with the cascading problems that are building steam and headed our way. And that was to figure out a way to help as many people as possible raise their level of consciousness as fast as possible. Specifically, that meant finding ways to accelerate personal growth, deepen our sense of connectedness (to one another, the rest of life, and the divine), and, eventually, begin to tap into the magical power of collective intelligence.
While the efforts I have outlined above are not healing the blind or raising the dead yet, there is a tangible sense that our efforts are beginning to bare fruit. It's clear now that I/we are on to something -- and that others, in the United States and elsewhere, are feeling the same sense of urgency and responding to the same impulse to gather.
I ask, therefore, for your help: help me get to the JFKU conference and take what I've outlined above to the next level.
As always, whatever I do and wherever I go, I carry you with me and will do everything I can to be sure all of us have the resources we need to make a graceful passage through the turbulent times in which we live.
With Love & Best Wishes,
Your Brother,
David
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