July 2008 NEWSLETTER

"Freedom"

"Freedom is the oxygen of the soul."
- Moshe Dayan

Dear Friends,

The Fourth of July in the USA is a weekend of celebration, hotdogs, fireworks, parades, BBQs, and political speeches extolling the virtues of our strength, freedom and the American way of life. But are we really free? The word freedom comes from the German word friede, which means peace. In the past three thousand years we have had over five thousand wars and little peace on this tiny planet -- most of these wars were in the name of freedom. Please join me in taking a deep breath and pausing for a moment. Are you at peace? Do you experience freedom in your heart, your body, and your life? If not, perhaps it is time to inquire into the nature of freedom itself. If freedom is the oxygen of the soul, a few deep, soul searching breaths might help bring a moment of peace and stimulate some creative thought.

We have a tendency to look outward for our freedom. Can I move about freely, do I have the money to buy what I want, can I say what I want without fear of being ostracized, is there a gun at my head, am I a prisoner. But, all these things are only expressions of freedom based on circumstance and situation. In some ways they are actually symbols of our separation, alienation, identity, and our expectation that we "should" have individual rights. Can there be freedom for one life above another? What about the freedom of the rivers, trees, and all the other life forms that have been so rich and abundant on this Earth? Is there freedom in nature? Do we experience our connection to our natural life cycles and support systems?

"I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind."
- Antoine De Saint-Exupery

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Tickets are $15 per person available at the Briarpatch Co-op in GV, Harmony Books in NC and online here!

Schedule
Potluck  5 – 8pm  
Band Playing  6:30 – 8pm  
Dj Divine 8 – 8:40pm  
Talk and Process (Michael) 8:45 – 9:30pm  
Band Playing   9:30 – 10:30pm  
Dj Divine  10:30 – Midnight

Partial list of silent auction and raffle items which have been generously donated in support of Conversations...

Service Team

A very special thanks to all of you who have given so generously to co-create this community and our events. The following people have participated on the Service team in the past month: Torrie Mudd, Ronda Trujillo, Melinda Marshall, Byron Kawaichi, Dawn Krusi, Doug Orton, Nancy Herrick, Tully Walker, Marlena Rodrigues, Eve Bejarno, Laurie Bell, Gene Meseck, Kendra Banks, Prema, Punita Greenberg, Crispian Mudd, Rich Lailer, and Johnna Garrido.

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
- Albert Einstein

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July 5 Born to Be Wild Fun' Raiser benefit event for Conversations! more...

Find it streaming live on the web at www.kvmr.org

Alternate Tuesdays at 12:05pm
West Coast Time

Conversations, a radio show hosted by Michael Stone, brings you leading edge thinkers in the areas of Environmental Regeneration, Social Justice and Human Fulfillment. We look for positive solutions to local and global issues that leave you touched, moved and inspired to action. Our weekly guests include local and global experts and concerned citizens working together to heal the wounds that separate, alienate and marginalize people.

Visit the Conversations website for donation information.

July 8th Nina Simons: UnReasonable Women for the Earth
Nina Simons is a social entrepreneur and co-founder and co-president of Bioneers.
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July 22nd Ray Anderson: Commerce and Ecology
Ray Anderson is an author, entrepreneur, speaker, and Founder and Chairman of Interface, Inc., a leading carpet manufacturer and innovator in industrial ecology.
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August 5th Palden Gaytso: Fire Under the Snow
Palden Gyatso, a Tibetan Monk was arrested by Chinese officials after the Tibetan uprising in 1959.
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August 19th David Korten and others: Global Peace, a possibility
Dr. David C. Korten: Author, teacher, publisher and lecturer, David has over thirty-five years of experience in preeminent business, academic, and international development institutions.
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September 2nd Dwight Hopkins: Being Human: Race, Culture and Religion
Dwight Hopkins is an author, teacher and constructive theologian working in the areas of contemporary models of theology, black theology, and liberation theologies. He is interested in multidisciplinary approaches to the academic study of religious thought, especially cultural, political, economic, and interpretive methods. His latest works is Being Human: Race, Culture, and Religion. divinity.uchicago.edu

Click Here for Other Shows...

BLESSED UNREST: THE FILM

We are not alone! Be inspired. Watch the trailer based on Paul Hawken's New York Times bestseller book and know we are living in an extraordinary time in human evolution.

Blessed Unrest: The Film

Poetry Corner

Self-Portrait

It doesn't interest me if there is one God or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel abandoned.
If you know despair or can see it in others. I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world with its harsh need
to change you.  If you can look back with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand.  I want to know if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living falling toward
the center of your longing.  I want to know if you are willing
to live, day by day with the consequence of love and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.

I have been told, in that fierce embrace, even the gods speak of God.

David Whyte

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