“Resilience Circles” – Interview with Sarah Byrnes, Co-Director of New Economy Transition (NET) New England by Willi Paul, Planetshifter.com Media

Excerpt :

You see the process as ‘part of a larger effort to create a fair and healthy economy that works for everyone in harmony with the planet.’ Give us some examples from a successful Circle?

We are going to hold a webinar featuring stories from two successful Circles on Nov 18 – I encourage everyone to join! (Register) The meaning of success really does vary widely, and that’s the beauty of it. One example is the group in Portland OR who has been meeting for 5 years and has really become a core support group for each other. They know each other so well and they’re there for each other in good times and bad. Another great success was Connie Allen’s group in Maine that focused on helping each other live with limited income. You can read about that here.

Another great success story comes from Maryland, where several Circles formed and disbanded, but many people in them continued to know each other and formed lots of other kinds of groups as well. They participated in “house parties” with different movements– particularly the Move to Amend movement—and connected with a widening group of people that way.

They ended up starting a Transition Initiative and getting their town to pass an ordinance supporting an amendment to overturn Citizens United. I like this story because it shows that your Circle doesn’t have to last forever in order for it to be a “success.” And it also reflects the reality that people move in and out of things over the months and years, and that’s normal and natural.

http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2227 

“Nature is not a Ritual” – Online Roundtable Topic by Willi Paul, CommunityAlchemy.com

Definitions -

A ritual is a semi-regular gathering of family or community members that share a Nature-based experience, value or dream often associated with local roles and traditions.

“ Mythic imprinting” is an iterative and transmutative process is grounded in the initiation, journey and hero triad from Joseph Campbell and is one way that neighborhood artifacts can help neighbors generate new songs, poems and myths. (W. Paul)

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Consider three types of ritual -

1. Nature Rituals

* Nature is not a ritual but a spirit. She teaches us about ecology, seasonal cycles, beauty, and the Sacred.

* Nature is best experienced as “embedded” with our families.” Not inside a building but in the outdoors.

* Symbols drive the schedule: fall leaves, snow piles, sprouting seeds, our harvest table.

2. Human + Nature Rituals

* Bond fires, picnics, camping, star gazing, catch and release on a trout stream.

* Human + Nature ceremonies are best local, decentralized experiences; consider a pagan rites?

* We kill, drag and then hang ornaments on Christmas Trees. Human + Nature ritual.

3. Human Rituals

* Humans are Nature ritual digesters and morphers. Nature is a raw ritual source too often tamed and controlled.

* We need to build shared rituals based on love and tolerance not selfish consumption and conquest for the Popes and CEO’s.

* Humans rituals have been devised over the Centuries to punish and control many cultures with a top-down, rules-driven “pseudo ritual” agenda.

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5 New Nature-based Rituals for the Permaculture Transition -

Abundance Dance (Celebrating Nature)
Winter
Multi-stage art & music festival

Compost Festival (Seed Sharing & Harvest Share)
Spring & Fall
Planting Tools, Dirt and Food Meet-up

Annual Cascadia Convergence (Concert)
Late Fall
Big Education and Networking Event

Food Forest Work Trek Weekends (Caring for the Earth & People)
Early Spring
Multiple Community Work Actions with Evening Pot Lucks

Resilience Expo – Practical Seminars and Clothing Share
4 times per year
Local Community Education and Support for Basic Needs

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Discussion Questions -

* What are the connective tissues that can spawn new Human + Nature-based rituals? Is this social DNA lost?

* What symbols dominate our rituals now? What does that crucifixion really mean on your chain?

* Consider technology, sports, fast food. If such unhealthy, short-term consumption is not a ritual, how does this behavior impact the creation of new Nature + Human rituals?

* Is the long-practiced behavior of littering an anti-Nature ritual or more of a bad habit?

* Can we watch and celebrate Nature on our devices – as short-term, downloaded rituals?

* Offer an example of how we currently experience a common religious holiday as a ritual?

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Please join us for the Nov 18th 2014 Online Roundtable: “Tools and Inspiration for Creating New Myths.” A Free Online Roundtable. Please Register Here:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2878154566581551362

“CASCADIA: Community Mythology in Global Transition” - Download the “Online Roundtable Reader”
http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2224

"Texting Joseph Campbell" - “Five Methods to Design New Stories & Myths” eBook for this: http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2222

“CASCADIA: Community Mythology in Global Transition” - Download the ”Online Roundtable Reader”. By Willi Paul, NewMythologist.com

2 Free Downloads -

2014 Online Roundtable Reader

Texting Joseph Campbell - Five Methods to Design New Stories & ...

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2014 Online Roundtable FAQ -

Title: Tools and Inspiration for Creating New Myths.
A Free Online Roundtable by Willi Paul
Date / Time: November 18th @ 5:00 – 6:30 PM PST

Click to Register

Why should you participate? 
Be part of the re-birth of Mythology and discuss the power of new symbols, archetypes, and rituals.

Roundtable Terms -

Archetypes – Conscious and/or subconscious sources? Are there new archetypes for the age?

Symbols – Are there new symbols that are connected to environmental issues?

Ritual – Are new seasonal and yearly rites and rituals evident? Where do they come from?

Alchemy – How are a change factor?

Joseph Campbell’s Initiation, Journey and Hero – Can your community be the hero?

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Facilitator Bio

Contact Willi @ pscompub at gmail.com

“Blackwater Rising” – Interview with Regina Hirsch: Organizer: Localizing California Waters Conference. 11/3 – 06/2014, Yosemite. By Willi Paul, Planetshifter.com Media

Localizing California Waters is a unique conference focusing on Integrated Water Reuse and LID techniques: Stormwater, Rainwater, Greywater, Blackwater as well as California Water Reuse Policy and Watershed Management. Half day seminars covering design, management, and permitting will be coupled with tours of systems under construction. Tours will focus on inspection and hands-on construction participation.

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Interview with Regina by Willi

Who owns our water?

Besides how much water there is available, this is the question of the year for California. Our water is a common good resource that is finite. Since there is less than 1% of all water on the planet is available as freshwater, and much of that is polluted or unreachable, it is small resource that must be allocated fairly. In California, the state has just had a huge overhaul with three groundwater bills that will steer the public to regulating groundwater supplies for the first time in the history of the state. Who owns surface water, is still a complicated scenario in this state, which still has a ‘first come, first served’ senior water right allocation system. This is contradictory to a finite critical common resource, but very much in accordance with private property rights that are prevalent in the state.

Please define a watershed from the POV of a civil engineer and a water rights activist!

A watershed to a civil engineer is a calculation of dynamic forces; a spatial unit of cumulative measures following rivers systems to a common basin. An engineer is looks at a watershed in terms of flow, hydraulics, pollutant loads inputs, land use cover and flooding potentials.

A water rights activist would define a watershed as a planning unit, a geographical area in which stakeholders who inputs affect downstream basins. Either way, a watershed is a map of geographical inputs which during storm events, flow into a common basin, such as San Francisco Bay. All water flows downhill, and therefore thinking like a watershed promotes the idea that all upstream land uses affect the downstream business and ecology downstream.

Are you using permaculture principles in your work at the Sierra Watershed Progressive?

Always. Our favorite is looking to re-frame the problems of the site into solutions. In addition, we also always look to grow our projects from the ground up, starting with soils, and usually looping back into soils. Growing soils has given us a myriad of benefits and resources which interplay into our other design criteria, heat island cooling, drought tolerance, disease resistance, decreased energy consumption, habitat and species diversity, groundwater recharge, and food foresting (for animals and humans). Trees and wastewater have been my favorite of late to get the soil party started, and build on it from there. Lastly, we look to rules of proximity to aid in relationships with local regulators, businesses and neighbors to create the best path for implementation and long term buy in and education of a project.

What’s hot at the California Water Reuse Policy Council?

The first statewide : conference on site water and reuse November 3-6th, 2014. This will include input on green guidance documents for onsite water and wastewater. This conference is a unique hands-on build workshop with agency regulators, advocates, designers, residents and students and more, in an incredible setting near Yosemite. Half day seminars will be coupled with half-day tours and builds to get the most of in depth training. Sprinkled in the mix is Brothers Comatose, a fantastic band from the bay area, and various networking and social gatherings.

Tell us about your new life in the Sierras? Pros and Cons?

Pros: Best pro, the people. No surprise, mountain people are tough and typically more connected to their environment. Other pros: No people, no traffic, no people in your granite swimming holes. There is fantastic fall color, great kayaking near beaver ponds, high plant and raptor diversity in my backyard.

Cons: A bit more driving to good surfing spots, and continual forest fires, such as the Rim Fire 2014.

How is Mountain Sage Landscapes working to lessen the local impacts from the state-wide drought?

Most our larger projects include 30-50% reductions in potable water use onsite. We use every tool from the tool kit possible, depending on the site and users. Rainwater, mechanical water, plant typing, blackwater repurposing, irrigation audits, greywater and stormwater infiltration.

How do you sell greywater solutions to a residential client?

I really don’t sell it, as greywater is such a user intense solution. I let greywater come about from an analysis of need and site conditions. Greywater needs to have the right plant pallet, and homeowner or user to have it work well. If the user has a constant stream of wastewater, and the right plant pallet or site, I work out their water budget and let it sell itself. In a drought, sometimes the most reliable source of water in a Mediterranean climate is greywater.

The most fascinating thing about greywater is that done properly, people may be able to shunt some of their wastewater toxins (pharmaceuticals, hormones, etc.) to a biological soil system that can actually break it down instead of sending it deep into our groundwater or to our surface waters, while provided crucial nutrients and water to plants based systems that can regenerate and be useful.

Don’t farmers own the water rights to their land?

Some do, some don’t. First, groundwater rights are part of the land ownership. As for surface water, some land is dry farmed and has no water rights. In some instances water rights are appurtenant to the land, but in other instances the rights may have been severed and transferred off the land.

What is blackwater repurposing?

Reusing the effluent from toilets and kitchen sinks once again, typically in a subsurface drip line dispersal setting. You can also reuse it to other beneficial uses if you abide by Title 22 state standards, as well as recharge groundwater with intention to drink it once again (direct potable). This is usually a more cost and energy intensive solution due to water quality standards and monitoring to protect public health. Many advancements are being made in monitoring that may make these methods more efficient, safe and affordable in the near future.

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Regina Hirsch - Bio

Regina Hirsch is dedicated to bringing appropriate best management solutions to the public by working on the ground in their homes and in public as well as commercial demonstration areas. After working on watershed water quality work at the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board and the Morro Bay National Estuary Program as Scientific Coordinator, she moved to the Sierras for a different approach to reaching people. She opened Mountain Sage Nursery in 2003, and quickly created a community center in her family (1867 farm house) integrating focused educational programs, high caliber live music, a farmers market, hands-on appropriate landscaping and water integration, all within a nursery café that roots the community together.

Regina also founded Sierra Watershed Progressive, the watershed-scale arm of Mountain Sage Landscapes which focuses on onsite water best management practices aimed at rehydrating watersheds. Since 2010, Sierra Watershed Progressive has helped design and install projects restoring over 514 acres of habitat and aiming to increase watershed hydrologic recharge functionality through water conservation and reuse. These projects include over 1,327,300 gallons of rainwater (tanks), 2,170,518 gallons of stormwater, 21,560 mechanical water and 4,948,725 gallons of greywater which are reused each year. Recent watershed based projects include projects for California Conservation Corp, San Luis Obispo County, California Polytechnic State University, Mono Lake Committee, and Evergreen Lodge. In addition, Regina is a executive board member of various organizations, such as The Telele Foundation, Clavey Coalition, and the California Water Reuse Policy Council.

Knowing what people do in their homes and backyards is what can make a difference, Regina Hirsch’s goal is to spread the word on good and appropriate decision making when it comes to water, energy, plants, soils and most of all, community.

Connections:

Regina Hirsch
Regina at sierrawatershedprogressive.com
Sierra Watershed Progressive
Groveland, CA
209-206-2234 - cell

Willi Paul
willipaul1 at gmail.com
New Mythologist & Transition Entrepreneur
@planetshifter @openmythsource @PermacultureXch

“Texting Joseph Campbell” – “Five Methods to Design New Stories & Myths” - eBook #18. Willi Paul, Planetshifter.com Media

eBook is attached (see end of post) or as a Free Download

eBook in Support of Mr. Paul’s 11/18/14 Online Roundtable:

“Tools and Inspiration for Creating New Myths.” A Free Online Roundtable. Please Register Here

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                                            : I N D E X :

Texting Joseph Campbell – 
Five Methods to Design New Stories & Myths

1. Building a Mythology Generator for the Sustainability Age

2. Mapping Future Myths for the Transition -
Workshop & Video, First Study of Myth Symposium, Pacifica Graduate Institute

3. Myth Lab

4. SCORE: sounds symbols myths

   6 Pieces:

(a) initiation @ nine finger canyon [ New Myth #60 ]

(b) Jump - Look - Jump [ New Myth #59 ]

(c) DUSK - Sound – Symbol - SCORE Design for Children’s Permaculture St...

(d) "resilience in our age of dementia" - permaculture sound cartoon. S...

(e) "lawyers, guns and water" - a permaculture sound comic

(e) OccupySound - Soundtrack for a New Global Mythology

5. Mythic Engine

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Willi Paul
New Mythologist & Transition Entrepreneur
@planetshifter @openmythsource @PermacultureXch

“Parking Lot Love” - Interview #2 with Peter Ruddock, Transition Palo Alto by Willi Paul, Planetshifter.com Magazine

Enjoy my first interview with Peter: NorCal Transition Yeast: Interview with Peter Ruddock, Slow Money, Transition Palo Alto & San Mateo County Food System Alliance. (3/12)

“What… is reskilling? The answer to this question is not so obvious. Someone might respond by defining reskilling as the acquisition of those skills that are essential to satisfy basic needs in a localized and carbon-constrained future. That makes sense, and it is hard to dispute, but the issue with the definition is that it is circular reference. It defines reskilling in terms of skills. It also makes it sound like reskilling can stop at some point, that once a community acquires the skills to satisfy many of its basic needs in a localized and carbon-constrained way, then there is no further need to reskill. Perhaps it is better to think about reskilling as an ongoing and never ending process that evolves as conditions and contexts change. It is not a onetime affair any more than it is a fixed end state.”

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Interview with Peter by Willi -

What American values are getting in the way of Transition Movement values?

I'm not sure that consumerism is an American value, but it is a value that is common in America and it is something we have to overcome.

Individualism is an American value that has to be tempered. There needs to be a balance between the individual and the community, a healthy tension between getting your own way and doing what is best for the group, for society.

Advertisers equate the individual with consumption: you should own one of these. Better for many things to share it with your neighbors, as in the new Sharing Economy, like ZipCar, or borrowing from the library, or even creating a gift economy, like Transition Palo Alto's Garden Shares and Sharing Expo.

To me, Transition means freely sharing knowledge, goods and services with each other. Is this a sustainable vision, given the dire straits that we face now? Isn’t Goodwill and Daily Acts already doing this work?

I am not sure that all knowledge, goods and services need to be shared. There is value in labor that should be rewarded. Value, as expressed by money, has over time become corrupted, with some labor valued more than others. Some labor has not been valued at all, often that which can be reproduced, like writing, music and some kinds of art. Copyrights were invented to address this, but are now corrupt. Timebanks are an interesting method of addressing labor value.

We need to ensure that everyone has the basic necessities to live: housing, clothing, food, access to health care, community, perhaps more. There is a famous graph that shows that once people have the basics covered an increase in goods does not increase happiness. Once people are assured of the basics, they are free to produce knowledge, goods and services which are free, or which return other knowledge, goods and services in a gift economy. This is sustainable.

What is the Transition Palo Alto'sAction Plan (i.e. goals and objectives) for the next year, 5 years and beyond?

Transition initiatives have often been accused of being “talk shops.” Some talk is necessary; too much talk is stagnation. Transition Palo Alto has been trying to find the balance between talk and action.

Transition Palo Alto actually does a lot: Garden Shares, Sharing Expos, Re-skilling events, small and large, movies and lectures every Fourth Friday, crafts, some of them public, supporting local institutions, conferences that Re-imagine the Future and more. There is no particular Action Plan behind this. Rather, TPA has set out to enable the people it attracts to create projects under the umbrella of Transition ideas: to create things that address climate change and other ecological degradation through building a resilient community and local economy.

Some of us would like to do more – more projects that is. Perhaps bigger projects: certainly supplementing the Sharing Expo with a Reskilling Expo or a Great Unleashing would be good. And we have been discussing how to do this. We are not sure that an Action Plan, that a lot of central control, is the way to do more though. Bureaucracy can lead to inaction, rather than action. A bad Action Plan can have us working furiously on wrong things. It may be better to improve the infrastructure and let people use it to create their own projects. To use the power of the Transition Crowd to guide them in doing so. Stay tuned. I expect interesting things to develop.

Why do you participate in so many organizations?

There are actually two different reasons that I work with such a diversity of groups. First, I think a number of different things have to be done to create the world we want to live in. We need to re-build community and build a more resilient economy. We need to educate people on why this is so ('educate' can be a loaded word, but I'll use it here to mean the dissemination of a Transition point of view). And we need to work within the system to change the policies that inhibit this new society and to create new policies which foster it instead. Transition, even with its broad umbrella, is not addressing all of these issues, while others are. Other organizations focus. I like to be the connection between these organizations, hoping to add value by looking for the commonalities between them and creating synergies by getting them to work together.

Beyond that, I find that at the grass-roots level, I have overwhelmed more than one organization. I have chosen to work full-time on these efforts, at this point whether I get paid for it or not. My colleagues often work in the same grass-roots organizations a few hours per week after their paid job. By having multiple outlets for my activity, I do not work more, or much more, than anyone else in any given organization. This, of course, may change as I find something that I become passionate about focusing on.

Egos, profit and self-interest dominate much of our community psyche. Can you tell us how our “collective genius” might be harnessed for a better way?

I'd like to say that we can educate people to see a bigger picture, teaching them that helping their community will help themselves more than acting as an individual will. But I can't say this. Many studies have shown that appealing to people with factual, scientific or other rational arguments doesn't work – more studies showing how much carbon will do what to the atmosphere are actually turning people off from addressing climate change.

Rather, I think we have to do things. Things which begin to address the problems we see, at a local level. Things which have a visible effect on the people who do them. People who attend Sharing events seem to be happier. Not because they got something for free that they would have had to pay for. But because they engaged in community. And often because they gave something away that they didn't need any more, keeping it out of the landfill. They used fewer resources, but didn't really have to think about doing so.

We need to tell the story of these things we do. And in such a way that the happiness and the community are played up and the resource savings are mentioned as wonderful side-effect. I think this is how we have to engage the majority of people.

Isn’t building resilience both a top down and bottom up strategy? Any examples of this in the food sector?

I spend a lot of time working on food. It is an environmental gateway. Everybody eats. Food is tangible. Unlike climate change, which is not visible to most people, or wilderness protection, which may happen far away in places people won't ever visit, food is right in their faces.

Resilience in our food system is created from both ends. From the bottom up, we start with encouraging local consumption, growing your own, sharing with your neighbors, knowing your farmers. Creating demand should have a ripple effect as producers change to meet your demand – voting with your fork. There is much you can do on your own.

But there are things that are beyond our individual control. For these things we band together and try to affect policy, working down from the top. Changing laws which allow beekeeping, for example, in jurisdictions that do not currently permit it, enables more people to work from the bottom up, without fear of being held to account for breaking a law.

“The Transition Movement believes that is up to us in our local communities to step into a leadership position on this situation. We need to start working now to mitigate the interrelated effects of peak oil, climate change, and the economic crisis, before it is too late.” How do we all know when it’s too late?

If you give up, it is too late. Never give up.

Two of my personal interests are localization and security. Many of my New Myths describe the inevitable haves and have not’s, both now and in the future. Will some of us benefit from gardens and green tech water systems while others will not?

In a sustainable world, there cannot be haves and have-nots. If there are, we create problems. If those who have-not do not have the basics, then they would be justified in protest in order to get them. But even when everyone has the basics, those who have significantly less are justified in asking why. Some will be envious of what they do not have; envy can lead to crime. The size of inequality is one of the greatest indicators of trouble, and unrest, and health!, in any society.

It is our job as part of Transition to figure out how to include everyone. And to decrease the inequality of our society. This is not something we currently do well, being a rather homogeneous group of mostly well-educated, middle-aged, white people. And it is not something that we seem well able to address. Nevertheless, we have to figure out how to be inclusive – we only win when everybody wins.

Capacity issues loom large in any localization scheme. Are fences around future sustainable encampments likely?

Fenced encampments are not sustainable. Fences will be breached. If we are fencing off resources and creating haves and have-nots, we will eventually fail. We must rather accept the finite nature of those resources and use fewer of them. Tear down the fence! Share!

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Peter’s Bio –

Peter Ruddock is a sustainable food activist and business consultant. He is working toward creating a more sustainable world, by changing the way we interact with our environment and with each other. He concentrates on food systems change, because given that everyone eats everyone should be able to relate to a healthier, more sustainable food system. He believes that there are four areas where he can best work on fostering this change: educating people about sustainability; creating a resilient local economy; creating vibrant local communities; and changing policies to foster such changes. He is active in a number of grass-roots non-profits to help accomplish these goals: Slow Food, Slow Money, Transition Palo Alto, and the San Mateo County Food System Alliance and the California Food Policy Council.

Connections –

Peter Ruddock
Sustainable Food Activist and Business Consultant
peterruddock at yahoo.com

Willi Paul
New Mythologist & Transition Entrepreneur
newmythologist.com | PlanetShifter.com Magazine | openmythsource.com
@planetshifter @openmythsource @PermacultureXch
415-407-4688 | pscompub at gmail.com

The Mythic Engine Kick-Starts a New Mythology. Conversation with Mythologists Willi Paul and Shari Tarbet. + PDF

from Planetshifter.com Media

Please enjoy a better graphic in the PDF version, located for download at the end of the piece.

Introduction (email to Willi, 10/14)

“I've thought about your invitation and want to tell you why I haven't responded and often don't engage with the projects that you're creating. You and I seem to be on the same page about the type of world that we want. My husband and I manage our little place in the desert according to permaculture principles, for example. But I don't think that we can set out to create a myth. I think they emerge from corners of the cultural psyche that are not directly controlled by us... certainly we can shine light on the things that we see emerging and encourage the themes that we value but it's not something we choose and craft in my view. That is more of an ideology in my opinion. Anyway, there aren't a lot of us working social change and mythology so I wanted you to know where I'm coming from. Onward:)-“ Dr. Catherine Svehla, Mojo-maker and Creativity Catalyst at Mythic Mojo

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Conversation with Mythologists Willi Paul and Sheri Tarbet

Willi: Has storytelling changed? How?

Shari: Evolved for sure, but I don't know if I would say changed. However, these two words just might be degree. In structure I don't think storytelling has changed, but it has been enhanced. It has moved from the totally oral to the addition of drawings, books, movies, photographs, music, sculpture, ritual, all art, electronic special effects, dance. I venture to guess, though, that all these come from the same creative source. Again, I recommend reading The Artist's Way.

Willi: Can we assess old and new myths in a quantitative way?

Shari: It certainly has been done. One mythologist who did this was Levi-Strauss. I hated how he broke down, analyzed, and tried to explain myth in this way. To me, the meaning in myth was completely lost through this approach. But there are those who highly regard it.

Willi: The Mythic Engine is a cyclical tool and journey for both individuals and communities seeking universal truth(s) and change. How are mythic lessons shared with the community now?

Shari: I can't speak to all communities, but here is what I am aware of. As of now, mythic lessons are shared in the classrooms of public schools to greater and lesser degrees as well as the community college and university levels. The lesser degree would be teaching the myths themselves. The greater degree would be when the instructor, such as myself, takes it to the next level, showing students how those myths operated for the student individually and how the myths operated for the larger community from neighborhood to globe.

Of course, examples I can cite are the following; How I taught Comparative World Mythology at the high school where I taught; how I incorporate mythic lessons in the reading and speech classes I teach at Dine college. One other example that is coming about as we speak is something called the Messenger Project. I'm a consultant on this project which is a multi-media event presenting the presence of spiritual messengers (some would call angels) who help/inspire us on what is essentially our own Hero's Journey. Once it premiers, it will go on tour. At least that's the vision.

Willi: How does the cloud (re: mass digital storage) support or disrupt the Mythic Engine?

Gosh, I really don't know. I am very suspicious of the Cloud and other such storages because, as I understand them, they can be hacked and/or corrupted. Beyond that, they are mechanistic, and in Campbell's discussion of the Hero's Journey, the Problem is that of living a mechanistic life that is maintained by the community/society. I am not a Luddite, but any time information can be gathered into one place like the Cloud there is the likelihood of it being used to control rather than inform. So, following that line of argument, I would venture an answer of it disrupting the Mythic Engine.

Willi: But there is no reason to believe that will have cloud storage in the future. It depends on electricity and the electricity grid may falter and fail! The mythic engine is just as viable around a campfire as an e-whiteboard.

Willi: What do you think of the fossil fuel metaphor?!

Shari: I need an explanation here of what you mean by fossil fuel metaphor.

Willi: My use of the 2 gears is from a combustion engine.

Shari: OH! Okay. I think the machine cogs (which when I look at them I’m always reminded of Charlie Chapin’s movie about a futuristic city in which we are all just cogs in the machine) works. When I first looked at it I thought that it was an interesting way to visualize your vision.

Willi: Are we creating new archetypes and symbols or just adding paint to the existing ones?

Shari: I can see where new symbols emerge because to understand an archetype visually, the symbol has to be relevant to those viewing it for them to gain meaning. As far as archetypes go, I don't believe that new ones are created because of what archetypes are. However, let's say the possibility exists that an archetype that has always been there might not have always been evident to human beings, and that might emerge only at a time when humans are ready to 'get it'. In my view we see in our current lives the archetypes that have always been, both in the classic ways and as they apply to our situations which we think of as new.

Willi: Creative Mythology is key here. How many mythologists do you estimate are actively using Campbell’s Creative Mythology?

Shari: How many? I can't give a definite answer here. Everyone I know who has attended and/or graduated from Pacifica Graduate Institute's myth program actively uses Campbell's Creative Mythology one way or another. When one is working on one's dissertation one can choose for it to be a Creation, with a supporting paper. I considered doing this. I also know there is now a Grad school in New York that teaches what they call a practical approach to mythology which includes through creativity which is what Campbell's focus is, i.e. that it's the artists who are the modern shamans of myth. I contend that we are all artistic (re: The Artist's Way). Beyond this I can't really say. One thing I can say about How I engage creatively with myth is a belly dance show I co-produced that presented different goddesses. I wrote all the poems that accompanied the dances and was one of the performers. I was Athena.

Willi: Do you see my SCORE (see 6 pieces under workshop) and Myth Lab processes as a distraction or viable myth making processes?

SCORE: 6 Sound / Myth Designs -
http://communityalchemy.com/

Myth Lab -
http://openmythsource.com/myth-lab/

Both the Myth Lab and SCORE select an artifact that is used to guide the process of new myth making. SCORE carries this work further by adding sound. Finally, all of my new myths are grounded in current issues and many new archetypes and symbols.

Shari: Okay, I looked at this and I just don’t understand it. It just doesn't resonate with me.

Willi: Please consider and respond to David Tacey, “The Sacred from Below: the ecological spirit of our time”:

Our civilization is at the edge of a new experience of the sacred. The sacred is about to be realized where it is not ‘supposed’ to be, in the realm of nature, earth, embodiment and physicality. This is a momentous change not only for the West, but insofar as a Western-style mentality has infiltrated every corner of the world, for the entire globe. The shift is a relocation of the sacred from the heavens to the earth, from the higher cosmic realm to the natural realm ‘below’.

Typically, in the three major monotheisms of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the divine has been located in the realm ‘above’, in the empyrean of starry space and distant skies. In symbolic terms, the figure of a Heavenly Father has ruled over our apprehension of the sacred for millennia. But the Sky God has expired, ‘God is dead’, and the divine effulgence appears to have fallen to earth, lighting up the world of nature with an otherworldly glow.

Shari: I agree with this. The book The Hearing Trumpet is an excellent example of this very thing. This change has been taking place, slowly for sure, for some time. Many readings from the Mythological Studies program at Pacifica deal with this very thing. I don't think the Sky God is dead though, any more than the Monotheisms and their priests believed they had killed the Goddess. First, there is a great deal of backlash against this change. We can see it in the 'conservative' politicians in our government at all levels, particularly the federal level.

When this new experience of the sacred is realized I believe that part of it will be that the Sky God will not be destroyed or expired but will find a more balanced, integrated, and proper place within this experience. I have had a vision of this. It came to me just about two years ago. In this vision were an eagle and a dove. The eagle, to me, was the masculine/solar, and the dove was the feminine/lunar. In the vision the two merged into a synthesis, into a new species of bird.

Willi: If sacred is being re-designed, why not try new methods to make new mythology?

Shari: I wouldn't use the term re-designed. I would say it's more a case of recovery. What is known of the earliest worship of the Sacred Masculine arrives in agricultural areas from either the Russian Steppes (Indo-European peoples) or from the south (Semitic peoples) who were pastoral and worshiped thunder warrior gods as pre-eminent in their pantheon. As they moved into settled areas and took over, the re-defined the local myths to support their thunder god and demonize the Sacred Feminine. Basically I don't know what new methods there could be to make new mythology because myth springs from a place that could be called spiritual, could be called the unconscious, or could be called a higher consciousness, all of which reside within each of us and is carried in both the collective unconscious and even genetic memory. On the other hand, I do see the possibility of creating new rituals.

It's new rituals, in my mind, that keeps spirituality from becoming fossilized as religion where everything becomes set, codified, and made orthodox. As someone who participates in ritual, I have learned that what is necessary at a particular time in terms of ritual isn't always the same from situation to situation, and so it is wise to keep open to the steps, objects, prayers, etc. that come to one as what would work in a particular incident. I listen to what my heart and soul tells me and know it's right; if for no other reason than the result bears it out.

Willi: Why do you suppose I put the Ouroboros on the drawing? It often symbolizes self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return - something existing in or persisting from the beginning with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished.

Shari: Oh, I love that. And let's not forget its expression as Ragnarok in Norse myth. I think you answered your own question, and I saw it as symbolic of how you see the two cogs working.

Willi: Can the community be the Hero?

Shari: No. In every hero's journey myth and fairy tale I know, the Hero archetype is about the individual taking that journey in order to come to one's true, authentic self that has, in fact, been hidden by the individual's community. The Hero has to separate from the community and its standards as taught to the individual by parents in order to find her/his true self. Then one returns to the community to share this wisdom with others.

It is possible for a community to have many individuals who have taken that journey (and more than once) and returned, and are living as their authentic selves. Examples: Scrooge, Frodo, Odysseus, Rapunzel, the central character in Ceremony, Hercules, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Neo, the girl in 'V', the girl in Pirates of the Caribbean, to name a few. A community populated with such heroes would be very interesting.

Willi: I disagree. There are numerous examples in the permaculture and sustainability sectors of entire neighborhoods, food forests and towns being initiated by causes and ending up transformed through a shared journey. Daily Acts is a journey engine!

* * * * * * * *

Connections

Shari Tarbet
Sheri Tarbet LinkedIn
satarbet.02 at gmail.com

Willi Paul
New Mythologist & Transition Entrepreneur
@planetshifter @openmythsource @PermacultureXch

Mr. Paul's Online Community Groups:

Depth Psychology Alliance - New Global Mythology Group Founder -
http://www.depthpsychologyalliance.com/

LinkedIn - New Mythology, Permaculture and Transition Group Founder -
https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=5080106&trk=my_groups-tile-grp

Common Ground Center (Santa Cruz, CA) - The Transition Movement Founder -
http://commonground.ning.com/group/the-transition-movement

The Mythic Engine - Willi Paul + Shari Tarbet 2014 (pdf)

“One web site. One action plan. One planet” - Vision by Willi Paul, CommunityAlchemy.com

One big dream that has recently meandered up my stained whiteboard laments a “super nova-global-local” re-alignment of people and resources. A kind of “last dance” campaign, with a hoped for “Beatles coming to America” cultural impact and vision!

* * * * * * *

The zillion web masters, their CEO’s and followers banking on today’s electronic frontier must give up server control and join the One Web Site platform. Everything commercial is juried, rated and ranked. Many sales sites decline and drop from the pressure of the sustainability filters. Not-for-profit causes are also scrutinized through critical real Earth parameters like their impact on climate change and species extinction. Putting the planet into one web site (and one global marketplace) will have many untold synergies, energy savings and human-Nature benefits, not yet realized today.

I recently asked my Transition-flavored listserv based in Palo Alto if the group had an action plan. Days past: pure silence. Now I realize my hypocrisy! I have no action plan. Interests, posts, reads and memories do not bundle into a robust schedule with goals. There are too many disparate movements, like permaculture, with loads of egos, heart and event pages but no long range strategic plans. Why is this?

The one web site plan is a great way to distill the issues, generate transparency across countries and reduce the politics and competition between the haves and have not’s - and plan for a just and unified global future.

In World Wildlife Federation’s Living Planet Report 2014, they state: “We are using nature’s gifts as if we had more than just one Earth at our disposal. By taking more from our ecosystems and natural processes than can be replenished, we are jeopardizing our very future. Nature conservation and sustainable development go hand-in-hand. They are not only about preserving biodiversity and wild places, but just as much about safeguarding the future of humanity – our well-being, economy, food security and social stability – indeed, our very survival.”

We have one planet. Let’s risk attending a few more community workshops before the music stops and our beloved Amazon returns Error 404.

This is my mythology and action plan. 

 

Instinct + Paranoia = Resilience? Climate change, species extinction and terrorism in the Chaos Era. By Willi Paul, CommunityAlchemy.com

[ 1 ] Three Definitions -

A behavior is instinctive if it is performed without being based upon prior experience (that is, in the absence of learning), and is therefore an expression of innate biological factors.

Paranoia is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Making false accusations and the general distrust of others also frequently accompany paranoia.

Psychological resilience is defined as an individual’s ability to properly adapt to stress and adversity. It can be learned and developed by virtually anyone. Resilience should be considered a “learned behavior.”

* * * * * * *

[ 2 ] First, let’s consider the general impact of the equation on three global concerns -

Climate Change: Moderate public paranoia with little instinctual solutions (avoidance). Low Resilience.

Species Extinction: Low public paranoia and little instinctive behavior to reverse course. Low Resilience.

Terrorism: High public paranoia with “kill or be killed” instincts. Moderate Resilience.

* * * * * * *

[ 3 ] According to Jungian approach of psychology , some highly developed elements of the collective unconscious are called ‘archetypes’. Carl Jung developed an understanding of archetypes as universal, archaic patterns and images that derive from the collective unconscious and are the psychic counterpart of instinct.

How does this definition of resilience influence both current and potentially new archetypes?

A. Permaculture & Nature Archetype: A love to preserve unique landscapes for future generations. Mistrust of greedy, short-term land and energy developers
Symbols: Tree of Life, Permaculture logo, Yosemite, Seeds, Amazon Rain Forest, US Gulf Coast

B. Permaculture & Nature Archetype: Our hope is to build sustainable systems in our local neighborhoods and towns. Fear of food and fuel shortages; fights for resources between neighbors and governments
Symbols: Crude oil on rails, GMO; Convergence and sharing expo events; neighborhood plans and new rituals

C. Permaculture & Nature Archetype: A deep love for freedom to own fire arms; fear of guns and killing.
Symbols: AK-47, US Flag, Scenes from mass shootings, vigils, pawn shops

D. Permaculture & Nature Archetype: Fear that global warming will destroy all life on Earth. Mistrust of business and goal of short-term profits
Symbols: Rising coastal tides, melting polar ice, coal fired power plants.

E. Permaculture & Nature Archetype: Mistrust of energy privatization and corrupt safety practices. Love of the system and blind faith in corporate responsibility
Symbols: BP, PG&E, Duke Energy

                 - 5 Proposed Permaculture & Nature Archetypes and their Symbols in 2014, by Willi Paul

* * * * * * *

[ 4 ] Study Questions -

+ How to change paranoia behavior to instinctive behavior?

+ If we update our global symbols, what are the possible benefits?

+ Is paranoia a necessary trigger or stimuli for adaption and evolution? Can we teach it?

+ How is duck and cover expressed, taught and implemented now?

+ Is instinct a mythic trigger?

+ Is paranoia is the gut or check of an individual or social movement?

+ Is surveillance increasing paranoia and weakening resilience?

[ 5 ] Next Step -

How would a “resilience app” work?

“Our Revolution Starts Here” – The Little Free Library Network.

By Willi Paul, CommunityAlchemy.com

“A Little Free Library (LFL) is a box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share. It’s a … gathering place where neighbors share their favorite literature and stories – and perhaps more?”

read the piece

“Light: A Glossary for Creative Writers.”

By Willi Paul, Planetshifter.com Media

Light needs a “source, calendar, scene, context, container, shield, and / or shadow;

a flash light on a journey.” - WOX

http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2215

excerpt ...

Light as (1-4):

1. a symbol -purity, re-birth, cleansing, revelation. Light can also represent safety or a goal.

2. a metaphor, a progression toward the achievement of knowledge.

3. a mythic element - comet, camp fire, candles.

4. a weapon - torch or a flaming arrow.

“Where Does the Light in your Dreams Come From?” - WOX

“It’s Always Light Somewhere.” - WOX

"Rebellion Coming.” Conversation on Creative Mythology with Willi Paul and Arthur George. From Planetshifter.com Magazine 

   .... EXCERPT .... >

Arthur:

What do you consider to be good examples of modern myths qualifying as “creative mythology” that others have created, and why?

Willi: 

Peter Gabriel’s - Last Temptation of Christ
U2 – Joshua Tree
Bruce Cockburn – Nothing but a Burning Light
REM – Murmur
Led Zeppelin – Mothership

To various degrees, these musical journeys come from the places where the artists lived and worked as they built themes, symbols and Heroes and brought critical challenges to our consciousness in transitory times.

Fall Sharing Expo

Transition Palo Alto

Sunday, September 21
1:00 to 3:00 PM

Common Ground Organic Garden Supply & Education Center
559 College Ave, Palo Alto, CA

Mark your calendars. The Fall Sharing Expo is taking shape. Besides goods (garden and food, books, clothes and toys), to share, we'll have a number of Skill-Share demonstrations. Given the drought, our theme will be Water Saving Tips this time. Confirmed demonstrators include:

• William Mutch - Permaculture Cafe, saving water in the drought
• Willi Paul - Water Cycle coloring and discussion for kids
• Herb Moore - Scrapophony
• Rani Jayakumar - Henna decoration
• Rani Jayakumar and Anna Ravenscroft - Grain Grinding
• Wendy Hediger - City of Palo Alto's Zero Waste program
• Palo Alto Library
• Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Have a skill that you'd like to share? Especially regarding water saving? Let us know. There might be some room this time, there certainly will be some room at future Sharing Expos!

Familiar with Transition values and want to help out? We'd like to staff an information table with greeters. Sign new people in. Talk a little about Transition. Tell them how and why we share. Let me know if you'd like to take a shift.

Expo Contacts:

Rani - promiserani at gmail.com
Peter - peterruddock at yahoo.com

“Soil & Spirit: Quakers & Permaculture”

By Willi Paul, CommunityAlchemy.com

“Having become a Quaker in 1978, Rowe realized that there was a correspondence between Quakerism and permaculture. They had in common: care for people, simplicity, community, ethical use of money and right livelihood. They both render infinite positive outcomes when practiced.”

* * * * * * *

As a low dogma and universal practice, a Quaker & Permaculture union could increase community building and action on a host of issues like increasing community gardens and educating the public about the danger of oil on rail and GMOs. A team-up can add vigor, expertise and support for event design, outreach and implementation.

The best reasons for this collaboration? Making Friends and the co-enjoyment of Nature, Song and Spirit.

* * * * * * *

In my 20’s, I attended many Quaker Meetings as I “ travelogued” across the country and each Meeting took me in and shared their love and Light. My silent meditations brought peace and sustainable reflection.

Gentle, thoughtful, anti-war and wary of authority, the Society of Friends or Quakers, remains a sane and green hearted group seeking connections to make a just world. Quaker values are aligned with the ethics and principles in permaculture. At the heart of a Friends school education are the Quaker values, or “testimonies,” of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship:

+ Simplicity - Clearing the way for deeper engagement in ourselves, our community, and our education

+ Peace – Creating peace in ourselves and our community

+ Integrity – Being true to oneself and one's values and honest with others

+ Community – Respecting and valuing every person's place in our lives

+ Equality – Respecting every person's right to fairness and respect

+ Stewardship – Valuing the gifts we have been given

* * * * * * *

Consider this synergy: Quaker Earthcare Witness is different from organizations that come from a purely environmental standpoint in that they seek to improve their relationship with the Earth by respecting all creation. They feel that a spiritual need rests at the heart of our current environmental crises and that by applying Friends’ ways and testimonies, they can bring a voice of connection, reflection, deepening, and right action to today’s environmental concerns.

Query: How can we help each other?

* * * * * * *

Quaker Earthcare Witness
Info at quakerearthcare.org

“enough.” by Willi Paul

enough

non-profits, satellites, leather couches, corporations, pot, pills
ghettos, beans, cross walks, future farmers, burning tires, gods, therapists
food trucks, alters, clear cuts, oaklands, masks, pumpkins, causes
christmas trees, hair dryers, drag racers, frozen yogurt, baby strollers
yahoo males, bumper stickers, jocks, cheerleaders, Time Magazines
beer cans, shotgun shells, diamonds, hub caps, plastic bags
apps, chicken soup, closets, goggles, micro softs, national flags
dirty tennis shoes, bleach

enough american dreams. 

“sounds symbols myths” - Interview with 4 New Composers plus 6 Sound Myths (SCORE).

eBook #17

by Willi Paul, NewMythologist.com

Download “sounds symbols myths” - eBook #17

* * * * * * *

Contents -

[ a ] Group Interview with 4 New Composers -

George Earth - georgeearth.com
Logan W. Hayes - DnmxAudio.com
Mathew Cohen - matthewaccohen.com
Charlie Ekhaus - imdb.com/name/nm6326743

[ b ] 6 SCORE Pieces: Sound / New Myths by Willi with Geoff Maddock -

OccupySound: Soundtrack for a New Global Mythology
New Myth #58

Jump - Look – Jump
New Myth #59

initiation @ nine finger canyon
New Myth #60

DUSK - Sound – Symbol - SCORE Design for Children’s Permaculture Stories. Video
New Myth #61

"resilience in our age of dementia" - permaculture sound cartoon. SCORE Video
New Myth #62

"lawyers, guns and water" - a permaculture sound comic
New Myth #64

“check brain light” - Labor Day Rant
by willi paul
communityalchemy.com

rapid consumption
data trough
corp nipple suck

data is the bottom line
data is the new meth

baloney firewalls
rapid fire circus
device > brain app > body part

www.stuck.net

starburst experience
bubble gum brains
chaos era blue
cereal box brains

selfie universe

click addiction
cloud store consciousness
false positive is the new positive

data mining > data shoving

search engine consciousness
nail gun corp sell
e-shopping puppets
in ultra-short-term experiences

dumpster clicking
consumption time 

“Grid Town” (Permaculture Station) for the Post-Chaos Era + SYMBO Message 1.0 [video]. New Myth #65. By Willi Paul, Community Alchemy.com

No one can predict how global warming will roll-out. It is our man-made, anti-Mother Nature monster cross to bear and any settlement types after the Chaos Era ends will need to be well-panned, compact, secure and localized.

http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2208

SYMBO: A Symbolic Permaculture Supported Language for the Post-Chaos Era. By Willi Paul, CommunityAlchemy.com

In the near future, after world-wide Chaos breaks apart long-held corporate control on financial and transportation systems, humans will be living in tribes, with a host of food and security issues. New sustainable systems, based on resource specialization (solar energy, water production, medical services) and geography - called Grids - will be required.

http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2207