BeautyDialogues

Vision, Storytelling and Digital Media

I've been falling in love with Salinas, a sleepy fertile town that has been growing on me ever since I moved here at the beginning of the month to join FireHawk in teaching a summer intensive course in Vision, Storytelling, and Digital Media at Hartnell College. I was head over heels in love with my class from the first day...

I've always dreamed of having a room-full of bright young minds to explore with, and the reality has been all I could have ever wished for. My kids (I say kids but they range in age from one impossibly capable 15 year old to a deeply thoughtful and ex-homeless man in his 40s, with most of them bright sparks between 19 and 23) are incredible - sensitive, intelligent, curious and creative.

The course we've designed for them is a bit unusual; it's a multi-dimensional fabric of social, spiritual, technological and vocational threads -  but they have taken everything we've given them and made full use of it. Let me take you back to the first week, for example, where we asked each of them to begin thinking about what having a vision might mean for them...

For many it was the first time they'd been asked this question, and we spent the time it took to uncover a vision for each student - first for their lives and then their community, before beginning to create digital art from what they found. Each student, whatever their background, level of education, or expressive style, threw their heart and soul into communicating their visions through video. With their permission, I'm proud to share the results of their work on the Vision Nest Studio video channel we created.

And that was only the first week! Stay tuned for more about Vision Nest Studio Productions (the "brand" that has come from this adventure for FireHawk and I), and to see the class' final video project - done in teams each focusing on a vision for (one of) the Agriculture, Health, and Construction industries in the Salinas valley in 2020.

The Sabbath Manifesto

I came across the coolest thing the other day - an idea so simple and old and yet so profound and so needed in this hectic modern age. It's called the Sabbath Manifesto. The founders offer ten principles to help us slow down and reclaim the power and grace of observing the Sabbath - one day among seven dedicated to rest and reflection.

The conversational debate about their first principle, "Avoid Technology" is absolutely fascinating and I love their little Cell Phone Sleeping Bag to deal with the distraction of all those blinking lights.

Clear Light Communication - Recent Projects

I've just completed a round of projects for people and organizations that are so fabulous I want to tell you about them.

BERRETT-KOEHLER PUBLISHERS, with whom I recently served as main consultant and designer for the launch of their new BK Community site. Read more about this brilliant company and my work with them here.

ALAN BRISKIN, a great friend and extremely talented thinker, writer, and photographer. I love working with him, and our latest project - his new web site/blog, The Power of Our Collective Wisdom - has been no exception. Read more about Alan and our work together here.

GISELA WENDLING I've just completed a creative collaboration with this remarkable German artist and academic who recently moved from California to Australia to immerse herself in Aboriginal culture. Liminial Songlines is the result of our collaboration and the product of her deep reflection and explorations. Read more about Gisela and our trans-continental journey together here.

CAROL HALLYN I've been working with this amazingly persistent and courageous woman for over 2 years now, as she has been her finishing doctoral work in intuition and new business leadership. On June 14th we launched her website CarolHallyn.com and blog IllamaSpeaks.  Read more about our story here.

Solstice Ceremony

Every year I respond to the drum beat of a Solstice ceremony held high in the Santa Cruz mountains where I join 25-40 others in dancing to the Tree of Life and declaring my intent, my commitment, for the next year.

It's almost impossible to describe the power of this experience in words, but I'll give it a go:

Tall trees, a deep horizon
a meadow with open sky,
where unruffled deer
witness
a communing circle of earnest hearts,
entering ever closely
the domain of their destiny.

A circle of Humans
sitting in the bounty of the gifts we hold,
Listening
for what it is we feel we must offer back
in the grace and gratitude of this fullness.

...o...o...0...o...o...

My own commitment, in this next cycle of the sun, is to hone my inherent, god-given aesthetic intelligence into a powerful instrument of Light.

I offer this commitment for the benefit of all sentient beings, and ask three blessings to guide my way:

May my voice be sourced in Silence.
May my words evoke the magic of original Knowing.
May my images be graced by the catalytic spark of Beauty.

May it be so!

Congratulations! The Art of Convening is Born!

My old and dear friends Craig and Patricia Neal of Heartland Circle have just announced the birth of their first book, with Cynthia Wold. It's called The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations.

This book is going to be very important and of great benefit to everyone, especially those of us working with groups. The Art of Convening is available for pre-order at Amazon, and I invite you to join me in welcoming this wonderful new book - pre-order copies now for yourself and your friends and colleagues, and become a fan on their FaceBook page.