Notes from May 22, 2011

Long meetings make for long notes and long blog entries. This Sunday’s gathering was hosted by Chris Tiffany’s in her lovely home; she provided us with excellent quiches, and we snacked on veggies & hummus too. In attendance -- eventually -- were Chris T, Brian, Haley, Jane, Carol, Eddie, and myself (Kelly). We schmoozed for a while and eventually settled in with a moment of silence. This would be our first four-hour gathering, and it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, so I think everyone’s energy was a bit higher than usual. We intended -- really -- to follow the agenda we’d all agreed on earlier, but it turned out that we essentially spent the whole time checking in. There was a feeling at the end of the gathering, though, that it was a very good and productive get-together, because everyone really had time to focus, and to be focused on, and the group provided lots of positive feedback for those with questions. We made a point to thank Chris T not just for the food, but also for having taken the first step toward articulating and writing down a process for our group; her project presentation is what moved our group into a more productive period. Thanks to her for that.

Without further ado: our check-ins.

Carol (& Kelly):
Carol -- with some input from Kelly -- focused on the veterans’ writing group project undertaken with Chris M and Kelly, because our open planning meeting had occurred only the day before. We were in a great meeting space, but only one person showed up! The blessing, and the surprise, was that he stayed with our group for the full three hours and it turned out well. For us (at least, for Kelly) the meeting helped to clarify the reasons for doing what we were doing, and allow us to “try out” how to structure our time. Of course, the take-home lesson was that we have to figure out better/more/different ways to publicize.

The SS group offered great suggestions on where and how to publicize our writing group -- everything from community announcement boards to Hugo House to plugging PI reporters. Together we started brainstorming extensions of the writing group, as well; Carol thought about making a combined exhibition with the War Experience Project (which helps veterans paint their experiences onto their uniforms) in which stories and painted uniforms are displayed together. Eddie mentioned an event he saw in which veterans voice-recorded a story, then played it aloud in front of an audience while live-painting a canvas, which was then auctioned off (presumably to benefit a veterans’ service organization). Interesting ideas, all, but for now we’re going to focus on just collecting a small group of writers.

Eddie:
The group Eddie formed last quarter to raise awareness of sex trafficking is continuing outside of the class in which it began. Group members want to make another series of interviews in the next few weeks, assessing public knowledge of sex trafficking and perhaps conducting interviews with those affected. They hope to publish the resulting video on YouTube, with the intent of getting the government to actually DO something concrete about trafficking issues. One of their goals is to support better independent studies -- to get those funded and completed -- so that there is more accurate and unbiased data available on sex trafficking. (For example, a City of Seattle report would be well served by under-reporting the local incidence of trafficking, because high rates would make the city look bad.) Brian mentioned that he had a contact at KIRO, and might be able to help with publicizing the finished video.

Eddie starts courses in the Community, Environment and Planning degree program this fall at UW Seattle. Aside from the trafficking group, he’s holding off on getting involved in more deep projects until the quarter starts because he anticipates a lot of group & project involvement will begin then.

Chris Tiffany:
Chris is still mulling over her native plant/bird garden. She's having trouble confronting the bureaucratic barriers; is it worth all the paperwork to go through the school system? Making a garden sounds like lots of fun, but dealing with the Seattle school system does not. Would there be a better payoff on effort invested in a community-based approach, rather than solely through schools?

Eddie mentions the very expensive LEED Gold Student Learning Center at Carkeek Park; multi-million dollar building that’s been closed due to budget cuts... but it would be a perfect venue....

Chris is thinking of doing some work with adults instead, to avoid the child-oriented bureacracy. Her project could perhaps take the shape of a small business, providing advise, information, or actual plants for native installations in home and community spaces such as parking strips, or sideyards. She would be happy to do the work pro bono, provided that anyone who receives goods or services has to promise to “pay it forward” in services or plants, and help someone else do their own naturescaping.

Chris was very candid in discussing the challenges of balancing: work, personal health, passions, projects/hobbies. Part of this also involves not beating herself up for not doing all the separate things she could imagine.

Jane made an offer to the group to host publicity on her non-profit’s website (e.g. for Chris T, for the Vet Writing Project, etc.).

Brian:
Brian opened his check-in with a quote from his friend, the Buddha: “If you enjoy waiting, you don’t have to wait to enjoy.” He feels really good to have started studying for the GRE; it feels like he's going somewhere, and once again working toward his dream of being a marine biologist. At mention of the GRE, Carol and Jane handed him 2 general test GRE Prep books, and then Chris T pulled a Biology Subject Test book off the shelf and handed it to him. (I’m reminded here of a passage from The Alchemist, one of my favorite books, in which a teacher tells a young man that when you truly desire something with your heart, when you are following your dream, the entire universe conspires to help you acheive it.)

Using his GRE work, Brian plans to work toward a Masters in Marine Biology. He’d like to stay in Seattle if possible -- the UW program would be ideal. Though he’d prefer not to attend Rutgers he is willing to move away from Seattle depending on which graduate program is the best fit.
Carol recommended connecting with a teacher at Garfield HS who is really into Marine Biology. Could there be a potential volunteership with him? Could the two of them have a meeting of the minds?
Brian is currently studying and choosing when to take the GRE in order to be best prepared for it. We had a discussion on getting into graduate programs, and how to make connections with professors and potential research mentors.


Haley:
She wanted to skip her check-in, but…
She’s quit her job at the childcare facility, because of poor communication, wage dithering, and a general lack of leadership from the management. One of the children in her group fibbed to his mother about an incident – then ADMITTED he fibbed – but her bosses are still on a wage-cutting “safety!” tangent because of it. All of the upset is based on something that didn’t happen, and it’s proving too difficult to warrant staying on there. She will stop work in June & won’t return in September. T
On the school front, the UW Bothell application is proving difficult because of supplemental submissions and frustrating logistics. Her inclination at this point is to return to Olympia & Evergreen (where, she learned the week after this gathering, she was accepted! Hooray!!!) to complete a postbaccalaureate and Masters degree in Teaching. Her goal is to teach writing, social studies, and English.

The past two years have taught her that she really dislikes working in environments with a privileged outlook, or a population with a privileged/skewed view of the world. Jane asked her, then, “why do you forget that you dislike working with this privileged population?”
Haley: “Oh, the money.”
Jane: “Then take this as a lesson not to forget again. It’s easy to be lured by money & security, but this is your life telling you what you do & don’t want to do.”
Jane encouraged Haley to write about narrative, seminar learning, & how to learn about the other people in your group – essentially a white paper.

Jane:
Jane will see some major changes this year; by June 31 she goes to teaching only part-time, and by December 31, Jane will not be teaching through the community colleges system at all. While that means no income from NSCC, it also means that she has a solid six months to prepare for the transition from professor to progressive entrepreneur. She is building up her non-profit, and forging a mission to help organizations transition from being static organizations to being living organizations. She also wants to help design curriculum to get young people engaged in their world. Overall she's very excited about having the time to pursue this consultancy/project. It feels like it's emerging well.

Jane had another idea recently: she wants to pitch a TV show to Oprah in which cameras follow around everyday people, champions, those working on projects and positive change. She wants to  "put hope on the radar," and to publicize the “new world" she sees forming. There's certainly endless material!


 We wrapped up after Haley & Jane’s check-in with some comments from Jane. She spoke specifically about Haley’s work situation, but the lesson has wide application. (Jane, correct me if I get any of this wrong!) One of the fundamentals of Buddhism is knowing your essential nature, and deeply accepting it. Suffering comes from wishing your essential nature were different. Certain environments/ecosystems nurture those seeds of your essential nature, while certain others don’t. Part of our purpose as a group, I suppose, is helping each other make our way into -- or build from scratch -- ecosystems which nurture our own essential nature, as well as that of other people and the natural systems on which we depend. This led to a discussion of Wellness, of balance, and of center; we realized could have an entire Spaghetti Sunday about that subject alone! Jane reminded us that paying attention to personal wellness pays off big in the end: having a weekly reset, re-centering, can go a long way.

Our next gathering will be Sunday, June 19. At this point the plan is for it to be a 2-6pm affair at Chris M & Kelly’s apartment. That Sunday is Father’s Day, so if you have a need to change the schedule, let the group know. It will also be a mere three days before Haley leaves, so it’s going to be a bon voyage party as well! See you then.

I Am - The Documentary

I thought this might interest some of you...
It is playing at the Crest Theater in Shoreline (its a $3 second run theater). Very interesting and worth checking out. Movie times are available at the link below.
Crest Movie Theater

I Am - Movie Website

Meeting this Sunday May 22, 2011

Hey everyone,

In case you didnt get the email from Jane, we are meeting this weekend at Chris Tiffany's house. Her address is 8049 12th Ave NW. phone number 206-789-2332

This time around we are meeting for 4hrs, or as long the meeting takes (4hrs should be plenty of time) from 2pm to 6pm. Our new format, as decided in the last meeting, is once a month for 4hrs, so this is the test meeting so to speak.

Speaking of the last meeting, I'm still working on posting the notes, but I should have them up by early saturday. As for this meeting, here is the proposed AGENDA:

1) arrival and general greetings.

a) dinner or snacks

2) moment of silence in respect for earth and all indwelling life.

3) check-in. How are projects coming along? What's emerging for each us during these challenging times?

4) person or topic of focus. discussion

5) closing/open mic. Reflection on meeting and any thoughts/feelings that want to be shared.

Hope to see you all there.

-Trace

short story

Along time ago, in another lifetime, on a distant land, I embarked on a perilous journey to seek the counsel of a wise monk. Desperately searching for peace of mind, I bravedharsh elements and traversed majestic landscapes in order to reach the secluded mountain dwelling of this particular monk.
Upon my arrival, I hastily expressed all of my frustrations and stresses from life's responsibilities and day to day affairs. With calm in his voice and stillness in his eyes, the wise monk smiled and simply said,

"I drink tea and forget the world's noises"
-Chinese proverb

Not understanding the meaning of these useless words, I grew enraged and demanded him to explain. But the monk was unmoved by my anger, and told me that when I understand those words, i will have discovered the secret to life and peace will find me. He was right.
It has taken many lifetimes to understand the wisdom the monk bestowed upon me that day, but having finally realized what he meant, i can say with honesty that life's day to day affairs rarely cause me stress or frustration. I hope it takes less time than it took me, but when you discover the meaning, it shall set you free. Enjoy.

-Ox

Spaghetti Sunday May 8, 2011

For the women that couldn't make it (Carol, Chris T., and Irene), happy belated Mother's Day. I had flowers ready to give to you all in celebration of the special day. However you spent the day, I hope it was enjoyable.

In attendance last meeting was : myself, Chris Mcrae (briefly), Haley, Jane, Kelly, Don, and a special guest Kristen.

To date, this was by far our most productive gathering. From the beginning, we all you knew this was not going to be an ordinary meeting. For starters, Don was sitting in (something he never does) and Jane had several hand-outs prepared. The hand outs included Chris T.'s brianstorming ideas for a protocol, a proposed agenda from Jane, "5 Things to Make an Impact", and Chris T.'s project worksheet template. Those who were not in attendance obviously didnt receive the handouts, but not to worry, Kelly will try to upload them onto our blog in time.

Now on to the meeting.

We began with a moment of silence. A chance to settle the noise in our minds and be present in the meeting. It was also time to appreciate life and all its sentients beings. Following the moment of silence was the "check-in". The check-in is a chance for all in attendance to update the group to what's emerging for each of us during these chaotic times. It also an opportunity to discuss progress on any current projects. To give you an example of how the check-in works, here is how it went down at thte last meeting:

Brian: decided to put his Seattle Central Community College project on hold (or possibly pass it on to Irene) in order to study for his GRE. He's also been brainstorming on which graduate school he would apply to and what he would get his masters in. He spoke of finallly being at peace with his time on land, trying to make the most of it, and deciding he was ready to visit home. He also protested becoming a Seattle cyclist due to his fear of getting tight hips.

Haley: spoke briefly on trying to find balance between work, school, and life. She also spoke of her trans-continental bike trip with her father late in June.

Jane: feels she is in a good place in her life, especially with her online classes and her neew course. She discussed the charter community college concept, which would focus on sustainability and be cohort based.

Kelly: its a new season for kelly. From her meeting with Center for Wooden boats, her research study group at UW, to her search for classes in the CEP program, she also feels she is in a good place in her life.

Don: spoke of his start up company, Paru Bear Adventures, and trying to get the ball rolling with it. He mentioned possibly being a partial owner of a sailboat, but stressed the need to raise funds for sailing certification classes. On a brighter note however, he and jane are taking a bike trip on the San Juan islands. All are welcome to join.
Speaking on behalf of Chris Mcrae and Carol, Kelly briefly updated us on the Veteran's writing group project. Their first meeting is already planned and ready to go.
So that was the check-in, and now you guys have an idea of what to share the next time we meet.On to the business portion of the meeting. We tossed around ideas for an official format that was concomitantly convenient and productive. At first we thought an alternating 3 week format may work, where we had dinner every other 3 weeks. The time we didnt meet would be devoted to a group outing, like a rally or lecture for example. The event would be posted on the blog for those who could not attend. Although we seemed to favor the "alternating" format,for now we decided to follow Carol's book club format and meet once a month for 4 hours.
The next issue was how to use our 4 hours constructively. There was a general concensus among those in attendance that longer meetings would allow us go further/deeper, however we didn't want the meeting to turn into an extended heart to heart or become a pure social gathering. The check-in is an important aspect of our meeting because it helps to focus our minds on ourselves and each other. If someone was in need of help, at their request we could spend the rest of check-in helping them help themselves with deep questions pertaining to their issue. In addition, in order to increase our group communication, anyone in need of aid could request it prior to the meeting via email or the blog. If not, we could adjust the schedule and meet from 4pm to 6pm instead of 2pm to 6pm.
Our special guest, Kristen, arrived late into our meeting to gain some information and better understanding of lecture-style teaching to use in a high school environment. Kristen is a 10th grade english teacher at Ingraham high school and expressed interest in Haley's desire to bring a writing project to high school students. It is probable they will collaborate this summer for ideas about seminar work next fall with Kristen's class.
The final portion of our meeting is the closing, or what i like to call the "open-mic" session. Essentially this is the time for each member to reflect on the meeting, sharing what they took away from it and to express any thoughts or emotions with everyone. In te last meeting, both Jane and Kelly expressed similar thoughts of satisfaction and happiness regarding the productiveness of the meeting.
Don: expressed his appreciation of Chris T.'s model of project sharing feedback. It gave us direction and allowed us to grow as a group. He also mentioned that having an agenda is a good idea since it keeps us focused and on track.
Brian : reiterated that the group was not only about projects, but also about finding and maintaining personal balance. He also shared a quote from his good friend, Buddha, about being at peace with what's present.
Haley : wanted feedback on her goals and interests (as explained to Kristen). The question was whether they made sense or were theye too vague, but her idea to use writing as a path to clarity and to explore literature seem to make sesnse to all of us.
So there you have it. As you can tell the last meeting was intensely deep and productive. Hopefully we continue to grow with each other and within ourselves. Hope to see you guys soon.

-Trace

Food for thought

A long time friend and mentor in my past life once said,

"First there must be order and harmony within your own mind. Then this order will spread to your family, then to the community , and finally to your entire kingdom. Only then can you have peace and harmony."

-confucius

This is what I believe to be the purpose of our Spaghetti Sundays. Peace and harmony (sustainability) within ourselves that can be translated into a form to share with others. Hopefully enough of us can achieve this peace and help heal the wounds we have inflicted on our planet.

Thats all for now, I'll try to address Jane's email before the next meeting. Take care.

Sunday May 1, 2011

In response to Eddie's request for an update about the last meeting, I figured it was time to put our blog to use.

At our last meeting, one of our newest members, Chris T., courageously brought in copies of a project she's been thinking of for a long time. We also had three guests: an older woman who writes grants, an older gentleman with valuable insight and life experiences, and Kelly's childhood friend. After a short period of constructive criticisms and suggestions for Chris' project, we asked her to share how that experience made her feel. She was very articulate in expressing that she felt a little defensive but also felt like she had our full support. We then discussed how having a tangible form of a project changes the dynamics of the group and of the project itself. Rather than a free floating idea, having something to hold and examine harnesses the focus of our group and forces the wheels of the project to make contact witht the ground and start moving. We were all encouraged to follow Chris' example.

Then Chris McRae spoke at length about one of the projects he is involved in. It involves getting money to a poorly funded school with a large minority population. The money would be used to purchase modern teaching equipment that would improve the academic quality of the school, helping it to receive more funding. He spoke about some of the difficulties facing the school and how significance of acquiring these devices.

Afterwards, much of the group dispersed for the night. The few that remained heard of my small project idea to bring the concept of spaghetti dinner to Seattle Central Community College. My goal is simply to provide the outlet that many young adults seek. a place where they can be heard, maybe even work on community projects some may have.