welcome to the new world…

2011-01-20

Richard Moore

Bcc: FYI
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previous posting:
Taking my own advice: going local
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Friends,

Energy fields are beginning to move. I feel a great influx of energy since I gave up persuasion, and focused in on personal engagement. There’s no longer a barrier between me and consequences.
I’ve already begun learning a few things. You’ve got to look people straight in the eye, with resolute intention, and make sure there’s no misunderstanding of who is saying what to whom. You’ve got to let people know that what they say matters, that they are putting their spirits on the line. I’m seeing that people respond to that, are energized by that.
And sweet serendipity is getting active. I said in the previous message that I wanted to ‘hold the space’ for certain kinds of conversations. Today I was walking down Main Street and thinking, ‘the core problem is getting bums on seats’, ie, getting people to sit down together, in a clean well-lighted room, for a conversation. I started thinking, it’s easier to get invited to an existing group, than it is to organize a meeting. And then I came to John’s shop, Rainbow Health Foods…
There were two flyers on the window. One anonymously announced a ‘public conversation’, at White’s hotel, to talk about the problems Ireland is facing, and it said ‘non-partisan’. That’s just what I’m looking for, and I haven’t seen that here before, a non-partisan meeting, with no sponsors or speakers mentioned; it’s almost un-Irish. The other flyer announced that Jim Corr will be speaking in Cork tomorrow, and as I was reading it John said he was going and would take me. Serendipity strikes. Two gatherings I didn’t organize, that are just what I was looking for.
And this morning a book arrived, from Alibris, and it began with the following quote:
     I have lived on the lip of insanity,
     wanting to know reasons, 
     knocking on a door.  It opens. 
     I’ve been knocking from the inside!
     — Jelaluddin Rumi
Which says to me: I am the one I was trying to wake up – and the door has been opened.
By the way, the quote I attributed to ‘Murray’, is in fact by Goethe. I was severely reprimanded for the error by one of our readers, Arthur Topham, editor of Radical Press. Sorry.

The magic of boldness, is what Goethe was talking about. Serendipity is part of the magic, the yin part, and personal energization is the yang part. Which leads us to the subject of this message, ‘welcome to the new world’. I boldly say: the new world is here, any time you want to step into it. 
When you step in, you give up worrying about all that bullshit going on in The Spectacle. You begin to see that the newspaper is as relevant, or not, as any novel in the bookstore. When you step in, you are concerned with your own energy field, and that of those around you. When you step in, you have power within your realm of concern.
So here I am writing, just after I said I was giving up writing. But notice, there’s no persuasion here. And as I said, writing has been a teacher for me. Why give up the learning part? I write for myself, and those who resonate. I listen for the resonance, and for the beats. I have questions to ask, and I want help from you folks. And already, help is coming my way…
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Lincoln Justice wrote:
 Richard,
  I appreciate your sincere sharing of your life and vision with us.  You have inspired and motivated me to also follow my dream of social change in my local community.   I have discovered that the most effective way to be a change maker is to following inner guidance and to lead by example.
  Your decision to begin acting on your vision and jump in and pursue the ideas in the real world, is opening the door to resources from the whole universe.
  Our experience in Missouri and some of the resources we have discovered may be helpful in launching a movement in Ireland.


Hi Lincoln,
Very nice to hear from you. Inner guidance for sure, listening to all channels. Example maybe, if that’s your style. I’m more in the gadfly category, by temperament. The universe seems to know if you’re on the right track, and when it offers help, that’s very encouraging. 
Thanks for the links you sent. Unfortunately, that doesn’t tell me what I need to know. Those are about programs and results, and I need to know about how it happened, who talked to whom, etc. It’s the process I care about, and it’s process that really matters. The process of people managing their own affairs creatively. The programs will be their own programs.
I’ll be staying in touch with you, and I think I’ll learn the most from your feedback, as problems and challenges arise. It’s your experiences in those projects that will be most helpful, even more than the project descriptions. 
I used the word ‘movement’ in the previous message, and you talk about launching a movement. We need to be more precise. Movement has connotations, different for different people. Some might think ‘organization’, ‘leaders’, ‘platform’, ‘protests’, or whatever. Which brings us to our next contribution.
stay in touch,
rkm
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TK Wilson wrote:
We used to call these dialogues “consciousness raising” which I think in some sense they were, but then you have to get your hands dirty. I never know ahead of time how, whatever it is I’m doing, is going to turn out. I can only bring my best efforts to bear on the present and leave the results to “chance”.
TK

Hi TK,
I think ‘consciousness raising’ is what it’s all about. That is itself a movement, if the consciousness we’re talking about has to do with public affairs, one’s relationship to public affairs, and one’s responsibility for those affairs. Such a movement doesn’t need banners or protests. Those who know don’t need banners to tell them, and those who don’t know wouldn’t be impressed by banners. When people are ready to act, they will act decisively and without asking permission.
Of course chance. And yesterday’s chance becomes today’s lesson from yesterday. Roll the best pair of dice you’ve got at the time. 
I like the idea of getting your hands dirty. What is it we love about heroes, like we see in movies and TV all the time? It’s their improvised, confident response to dirty, unpredictable situations. We’re always thinking, Why didn’t they wait for back-up? Why are they jumping in where it’s dirty and dangerous? I’d never do that! I’ve got more sense!
As the Talking Heads said, I think it’s time to stop making sense. It’s time to get down and dirty, to take some bruises, to face the dragon. Timidity must go. Hesitation must go, and doubt. There is only the energy field of the new world, to be manifested.
bye for now,
rkm
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Brian Matthews wrote:
Good Morning Richard,
Thank you very much for your email.
It makes fantastic reading and you have some great ideas.
I will reread it a few times later today.
Kind regards,
Brian.

Hi Brian,
I love your response, and it resonates with my amateur characterization of Irish culture. You are not someone I would have put down in the ‘radical’ column. You are what I would call a model community citizen, active in many local Wexford organizations, and contributing excellent leadership energy to more than one. Intelligent and creative for sure, but I would have said somewhat middle-of-the-road politically. And yet you have no problem giving an ear to a radical perspective, which is what I meant by open-mindedness, and having your own ideas about things, re/ Irish culture generally.
And even better you seem to have liked some of the ideas. I find that promising as regards how others here might respond. At the same time, I’m not wanting to ‘start a movement’ around the ‘Iceland Option’. I’m putting that out there as a calling card, to try to find some kindred souls. But the real thing is to facilitate conversation. And, Mr. Toastmaster, you know something about that! We’ll must ‘do lunch’.
all the best,
rkm
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John Brisbin wrote:
Good onya mate!
 We bailed out of the persuasion bizzo a decade ago and have rarely regretted it.
Ireland seems right-sized for your real-life improv: great analogy to crawl into and enliven.
  Just one note of contemplation: it’s all fractal of course. You’re sort of explicitly saying “These aspects of the process are no longer of interest/rewarding to me for these reasons…I’m going to re-focus myself at this new scale.” And of course the dynamics and patterns exist in all scales… so you’ll not likely find a clean slate. More likely you’ll eventually find one of those golden points where your energies are in scale with the opportunities you have imagined. Like the way water has properties of a fluid at some scales and solid at others.
  Enjoy your journey. And accept my thanks for sharing your many thoughts so freely to this point.
All the best,
JB

Hi John,
Fractals, yes! In several dimensions. You refer to the fractal nature of engagement, as one goes up the Mario Brothers game levels, where it’s always about spontaneous responding, never about the previous level’s tricks. 
There’s also the fractal nature of a conversation-centered movement. What makes sense in the microcosm makes sense in the macrocosm. Ireland is a community of communities. Those processes that work within a community can work among communities, as regards learning how to reach convergence. In both cases we are talking about peer-to-peer processes. And the world is a community of communities of… it’s communities all the way down and all the way up.
And then there’s the fractal nature of future realities. The reality of the movement becomes the reality of the new world. Bringing the movement together is the microcosm, and bringing the world together is the macrocosm. It’s conversation all the way into the future, on an upward evolutionary spiral.
thanks,
rkm
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Richard Flyer wrote:
 Hi Richard.
As I have eagerly read your writing over the last year or two, the thought did continue to rise in my consciousness–wouldn’t it be great if you would put your vision into the “real world” and in a real community where you live and the surrounding regions.
I kept these feelings to myself as I did not want to appear that I was telling you what you should be doing I have enough problem setting my own direction.
As you move forward I would be happy to respond to any request for dialogue about your approaches, strategies, experiences.
 Blessings brother,
 Richard Flyer
Reno, NV

Hi Richard,
You were right to avoid persuasion, as I would have argued with you. Only I could convince me. Thanks for your patience. 
Your offer of dialog is much appreciated. I’m very impressed with what you’ve accomplished with Community Weavers.
will be in touch,
rkm
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Gerry Masuda wrote:
Richard.  What is the status of your new book? Is it being published before you ‘change direction’?
 Gerry

Hi Gerry,
I don’t think so. Escaping the Matrix is close enough, as regards giving a book to someone who wants one. And Crossroads 2012 is online, in varying stages of completion, for those who want something more up to date. Those who can get value from that material do not need more elaboration. For others, no amount of elaboration would help. 
I suppose if some publisher came along, and wanted to print and promote it, I’d be willing to put some work into it, maybe. Mostly I feel time has run out for writing. We’ve been cast out to sea, and it’s too late to study more navigation. It’s time to ride the winds, to assemble the fleet.
thanks for asking,
rkm
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Tree Bressen wrote:
Hi Richard,
Sounds good.  And quite reminiscent of things Dave has said the past year on his blog http://howtosavetheworld.ca.  When the quotes disappear around “believe,” then you’ll really be in it!  I agree that people who have achieved big things are people who have believed that they can, who aren’t afraid to take it on.  That may not be a “sufficient” condition, but it is a “necessary” one.  Good luck!
  Cheers,
  Tree

Hi Tree,
The quotes are dropping rapidly away, like shedding a skin. Once the process starts, there’s no going back. Confidence that a better world is possible morphs, fractally, into confidence that a better world will be. 
But whatever happens will not be ‘my’ achievement. Who remembers the name of that first monkey who learned some new trick? It is the hundredth monkey we celebrate, the process in the macrocosm. I’ll be lost in the crowd when we take possession of the bastille. Whatever I say now will be like the babbling of a child, so obvious and primitive that it could never have been significant.
I love what Dave says about letting go of stories. It’s like what Don Juan said, about forgetting your personal history, to become a warrior. I had an experience earlier this year, where I realized I was playing an attitude-loop in my head, about some annoying circumstance. I chose to let go of the attitude, and I felt light and free. It was the loop that was annoying me, not the circumstance. 
Moving up a fractal, there’s letting go of stories of who I am, and what I can and cannot do. I am whatever I can manifest in the moment, no more no less. And every new challenge is an opportunity for new manifestation. 
best wishes,
rkm
PS. I’m eager to look at your card deck, re/ pattern language.
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