jeff hogue/ bluelab art org: 01/12/07

Finish what you've started here
You make your move
just once a year
In the city
in the town
Your happy home
is never found
Second hand
was never planned
The birth was over,
the baby banned
She fled the place
at such a pace
She never even saw your face
So go with me
Inside
Believe
You have so much to give

Switch the light off,
have a go
Force the only one you know
To leave this place
without a trace
A pity
I had seen your face
Where do you think
I will find
This party girl
who was so kind?
Raven hair
and skin so fair
Sadness
never visits there
So go with me
Inside
Believe
You have so much to give

the Delgados
Make Your Move

We didn't sleep too late.
There was a fire in the yard.
All of the tress were in light.
They had no faces to show.
I saw a sign in the sky:
Seven swans,
seven swans,
seven swans.
I heard a voice in my mind:
I will try, I will try, I will try. I will try, I will try, I will try.
We saw the dragon move down.
My father burned into coal.
My mother saw it from far.
She took her purse to the bed.
I saw a sign in the sky:
Seven horns, seven horns, seven horns.
I heard a voice in my mind:
I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord.
He said: I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord.
He said: I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord.
He will take you.
If you run,
He will chase you.
He will take you.
If you run,
He will chase you
'cause He is the Lord.
'Cause He is the Lord...
Seven swans, seven swans, seven swans, seven swans, seven swans...

Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans

“The question is no longer how did we get here, and why? But, where can we possibly go, and how? We live in a society that has drastically narrowed our sensitivity to moral and spiritual issues; the problem we face is how to deal with a belief structure that has blocked both psychological and spiritual development. If there is a new agenda, a new vision now emerging within our society, how might one help put it into practice?”
Suzi Gablik

...bluelab is being developed upon the issue first posed by Einstein, "a problem cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness in which it was created.” It has become evident to many that in order to meet the problems we face as a species we must embrace a radical revision of our beliefs and our behaviors.

bluelab functions upon the strong presumption that artists likely figure significantly into the revisioning of a new world—and the invention of ways to communicate our discoveries. As we all learn more and more about our essential interconnectedness it also becomes increasingly evident that artists can’t function in a social vacuum. The label of “artist” is a problematic one and only used as a signifier of persons with specific media skills and training who are fluent in creative processes and who have some professional link to art. We are working to deconstruct as much as possible the binary--"us vs. them" mentality that still pervades the high art world. It seems to us that consistent with new paradigmatic shifts taking placethroughout all fields--there is a need to reconsider our accepted definitions of "artist" and "audience" all together. bluelab is constructed to offer pathways into higher levels of inclusivity. It is only through true inclusion that we can hope to make work that is deeply inviting and that offers an atmosphere of true love and trust and safety to all.

In terms of the way bluelab will in fact function, we are working to develop a sound and effective approach to community building which relies heavily upon time tested processes that are well understood and are seeking the help of people who are expert in these processes. On practical levels, the sharing and cross fertilization of specific areas of expertise allows for rich and complex works which through communal process are fused unselfconsiously and intuitively making of an organic whole.

Why all the talk of “community”?It is our firm belief that by building works in a heightened communal space we will in fact be building works potent with transformational energies. Jung talked about the distinctions between “liminal”or
transformative space and “liminoid”, or works that are simply entertaining. With a hard look at where we are at as a species and planet—it seems like simple math that we must link art making to the real task at hand—that of saving the earth.

Jesus pushes it back to the edge. Can you even see the image of Christ in the least of the brothers and sisters? He uses that as his only description of the final judgement. Nothing about commandments, nothing about church attendance, nothing about papal infallibility: simply a matter of our ability to see. Can we see Christ in the people, the nobodies who can't play our game of success? They smell. They're a nuisance. They're on welfare. They are a drain on our tax money. If we can, then we are really seeing.

He pushes it even further than that. He says we have to love and recognize the divine image even in our enemies. He teaches what they thought a religious leader could never demand of his followers: love of the enemy. Logically that makes no sense. Soulfully it makes absolute sense, because in terms of the soul, it really is all or nothing. Either we see the divine image in all created things or we don't see it at all. Once we see it, we're trapped. We see it once and the circle keeps moving out. If we still try to exclude some: sick people, blacks, people on welfare, gays (or whomever we've decided to hate), we're not there. We don't understand. If the world is a temple, then our enemies are sacred, too. The ability to respect the outsider is probably the litmus test of true seeing. ...

Everything becomes enchanting...

Richard Rohr Everything Belongs

“[Suzi] Gablik speaks of the previous paradigm of the Enlightenment period and what it has meant to artists: ‘Individualism, freedom and self-expression are the great modernist buzz words.’ The notion that art could serve collective cultural needs rather than a personal quest for self-expression seems almost ‘presumptuous’ in that worldview. Yet this assumption lies at the base of a paradigm shift in art, a shift ‘from objects to relationships.’ Gablik challenges her coworkers not to settle for abstract theorizing in making this paradigm shift. She personalizes and therefore grounds the transformations that must be undergone when she insists that ‘the way to prepare the ground for a new paradigm shift is to make changes in one’s own life.’ Spirituality is about praxis, she is saying, not just theory.”
Matthew Fox, The Reinvention of Work

Is it possible to create new spiritual structures for collaborative art making and to implement such toward community building with a depth of conviction, courage and inspiration that might move participants beyond self-interest toward truly new possibilities? Is it possible that with rigorous and focused processes artists could joyously make work engaging meaningfully with the specter of our global challenges while together exploring the uncharted territory of their souls? Can community building processes readily pour into art making wherein something meaningful and healing might evolve? Is it possible that these discoveries might be transmitted to the public at large through various new media shedding fresh light upon human potentials? Is it possible that all of this could dovetail with the efforts of important organizations such as The Global Justice Movement, Environmental Defense and Amnesty International toward a healthier and happier planet?

We say hopefully, yes.

What if artists were offered stipends, room and board allowing them to come together and to work intensively and without distraction for substantial blocks of time on film, music and real time performance collaborations? What if artists and thinkers could explore important issues in depth leading to transformational theater, installation, film and music? What if these artists were guided by experts through a structured community building process prior to beginning to create their projects? What if artists were given opportunity to work with and interact with some of the leaders of our time in the fields of art, science, and philosophy? What if these artists were given all the production equipment and technical assistance they might need to produce global quality shows? What if supporters and friends of our organization were given intimate amphitheater access to segments of our artists’ processes as well as early rehearsals, scheduled meals, activities and fellowship? What if the productions could be built and performed with some eventually touring the US and the world?

bluelab has been founded and created out of a perceived need to reconsider art making and professional collaborative art practice proceeding boldly from visionary prerogatives. We don’t find fault with the many artists who will not be drawn to what we are doing—for spiritual practice and its interface with collaborative art making are not for everyone.

In light of our present global endgame scenario it seems frivolous at best to argue over rhetorical issues. bluelab is intended for the “Great Work”--that of joining leaders of many fields worldwide who are engaged in the work of saving the earth. We believe that perhaps the only way to meet our present challenges is to deeply transform ourselves which implies the support of a real community and structured spiritual practice to be determined by each member for her or himself.

When serious professional artists are willing to embrace the rigors of authentic spiritual practice, the work of community building and heightened artistic collaboration will undoubtedly fall quickly into place.

The abundance of quotes from Sufi teachers have been included simply because they are part of my daily practice and do not infer a direct link between bluelab and Sufism. In point of fact, any serious spiritual practitioner must see that there can be no schism between the teachings of true Sufism and any sincere humanitarian interest. In the interest of those who may fear some sort of covert Islamic link, Sufism as it’s practiced and defined by and large in the West is Universalist in its orientation and in fact many Sufi’s roots are Christian and Jewish.

"Emptiness feels empty not because there is nothing present, but because whatever it is we're doing has no egotistic interference. The subtle arteries have no ego plaque in them, nothing to resist the smooth flow of the soul. Without our getting in the way, the life of the soul is rich and full, though unpredictable. But it isn't easy to trust strong desire and the life that keeps pouring into us. We always think we know better what should be and how it should all turn out. That is why the death principle --avoiding, worrying, being moralistic--is so popular." Thomas Moore The Soul's Religion

All through Erikson’s work is the implication that the creative adult (the generative adult) is precisely the person who can infuse his life with play;…the great cultural synthesizers—the religious, political and cultural geniuses such as Luther, Freud and Gandhi—were supreme in their playfulness, especially in their work. Their great words of synthesis were personal attempts to restore the active mastery of their egos in the context of the tensions and dichotomies of their personal and public historical situations. All great historical syntheses are as much play as they are work. They are work because they are indeed attentive to the real contradictions and tensions that most people of a given historical period both sense and suffer. They are a result of play because the creative genius does not simply conform to, adjust to, and accommodate to these tensions. Instead, he bends and reshapes these tensions until they submit to a new synthesis which not only enlivens and activates him but which also enlivens and activates a whole people and an entire era.

“Some renaissance theologians worked hard at reconciling paganism with Judaism and Christianity. We have yet to achieve this détente that is essential to the life of the soul. Fragments of our hearts and minds are located in the garden of Gethsemane and in the garden of Epicurus, on the zodiac of the Apostles and on the zodiac of the animals, in the wine of Dionysus and in the wine of the Eucharist, in the psalms of David and in the hymns of Homer.

It is not a matter of belonging to a religion or professing one’s faith, it is a matter of orientation in life and participation in its mysteries.

We can all be pagan in our affirmation of all of life, Christian in our affirmation of communal love, Jewish in our affirmation of the sacredness of family, [Islamic in our affirmation of self-sacrifice,] [Hindu in our affirmation of the multiplicity of God's expression], Buddhist in our affirmation of emptiness, and Taoist in our affirmation of paradox.

The new monk wears invisible robes. Thomas Merton travels across the globe, and in the home of Eastern monks, dies. Isn’t this a myth for our time and about the resurrection of the monastic spirit!”

“Vulnerability, then, is not only the ability to risk being wounded but is most often made manifest by revealing our woundedness: our brokenness, our crippledness, our weaknesses, our failures and inadequacies. I do not think that Jesus walked vulnerably among the outcasts and crippled of the world purely as a sacrificial act. To the contrary, I suspect he did so because he preferred their company. It is only among the overtly imperfect that we can find community and only among the overtly imperfect nations of the world that we can find peace. Our imperfections are among the few things we human beings have in common….Indeed, only honest people can play a healing role in the world.”
M.Scott Peck, M.D., A Different Drum

"In the very first chapter Thomas (Berry) lays before us 'The Great Work.' In each historical epoch, he says, people are given a “Great Work” to do—in one age, the settling of new lands, in another the building of great cathedrals, the creation of artistic, philosophical, religious or scientific works, or the shaping of political structures and ideas. The Great Works of prior periods are seen in such things as the movement of the first people out of Africa in the Paleolithic Period; the creation of language, rituals and social structures in hunter-gatherer communities; the establishment of agriculture communities in the Neolithic Period; the development of the great classical civilizations; and, in the modern period, advances in technology, urban civilization, new
ideals of government and human rights, the modern business enterprise and globalism.

Our Great Work is not something we choose, Thomas says. It is something we find ourselves thrown into by virtue only of being born in a certain time and place. The task may seem
overwhelming, one coming in response to some huge historical difficulty, but, he observes, just as we are given our historical task by some power beyond ourselves, we must also believe we are given the abilities to fulfill this task.
The Great Work into which we and our children are born, Thomas says, comes in response to
the devastation of the planet caused by human activity. We are facing a breakdown in the life
systems that can only be understood by comparison with events that marked the great transitions in the geo-biological eras of Earth’s history, such as the extinction of the dinosaurs and countless other species when the Mesozoic Era ended and our present Cenozoic Era began. Our task is to move from our modern industrial civilization with its devastating impact to that of benign presence. It is an arduous and overwhelming task, one exceeding in its complexity that ever offered to humans, for it is not simply one of adjustment to disturbance of human life patterns, as, for example, that occasioned by the Great Depression or the recent World Wars, but one of dealing with the disruption and termination of the geo-biological system that has governed the functioning of the planet in the 67 million year reign of the Cenozoic Era in the history of the planet Earth."

Ten Sufi Thoughts

from The Way of Illumination by Hazrat Inayat Khan

There are ten principal Sufi thoughts which comprise all the important subjects with which the inner life of man is concerned:
1) There is one God, the Eternal, the Only Being; none else exists save God.
2) There is one Master, the Guiding Spirit of all souls, who constantly leads all followers towards the light.
3) There is one Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, which truly enlightens all readers.
4) There is one Religion, the unswerving progress in the right direction towards the ideal, which fulfils the life's purpose of every soul.
5) There is one Law, the law of Reciprocity, which can be observed by a selfless conscience together with a sense of awakened justice.
6) There is one human Brotherhood, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood which unites the children of earth indiscriminately in the Fatherhood (/Motherhood) of God.
7) There is one Moral Principle, the love which springs forth from self-denial, and blooms in deeds of beneficence.
8) There is one Object of Praise, the beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshipper through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.
9) There is one Truth, the true knowledge of our being within and without which is the essence of all wisdom.
10) There is one Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality and in which resides all perfection.

The following are shared objectives for bluelab and were first articulated as such by Hazrat Inayat Khan who is credited as the first to bring Sufism to the West--in the early 20th century.

The objectives of the Sufi path:

1) To realize and spread the knowledge of unity, the religion of love and wisdom, so that the bias of faiths and beliefs may of itself fall away, the human heart may overflow with love, and all hatred caused by distinctions and differences may be rooted out.

2) To discover the light and power latent in man, the secret of all religion, the power of mysticism, and the essence of philosophy, without interfering with customs or belief.

3) To help to bring the world's two opposite poles, East and West, closer together by the interchange of thought and ideals that the Universal Brotherhood may form of itself and man may see with man beyond the narrow national and racial boundaries.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Rabbi Michael Lerner wrote:>> 951 Cragmont Ave. Berkeley, Ca. 94708 January 9, 2007>>> Dear Norm,>> I know I don't have to convince you that Bush's plan to escalate the > war in Iraq is yet another amazing blunder by a president who seems > determined to prepare us for yet more escalations, probably in Iran or > Syria before he leaves office. His intention to dump the mess in the > lap of the next (likely Democratic) president who will then take the > rap for Iraq's further disintegration when the U.S. pulls out makes a > certain political sense to ultra-right-wingers who may use the old > fascist "the liberals stabbed us in the back" rhetoric to rally > support in the next ten years. Yet, if you take one step back, you can > see how totally insane the role our country is playing in the world, > from torture to modeling the destruction of human rights to > environmental insensitivity to economic selfishness. The Bible and its > prophets taught what the modern social theorists and psychologist > teach again: this path will lead to self-destruction. I write to you > because I know you already know this, and, like me, want to change the > direction of our society which has truly lost its moral center and > spiritual direction.>> I know I don't have to tell you that there is a big problem with the > Democrats making this newest escalation the center of their > attack—namely, that in so doing, they can present themselves to their > constituency as "courageous" and "having tried" without ever getting > to the nub of the issue, which is not to prevent a new escalation > only, but to get out of Iraq totally. In the current issue of Tikkun > and in George McGovern's book on the topic, we explain how this can be > done without making matters worse.>>> We need to make sure that the focus is not on stopping escalation, but > on getting out of Iraq and getting out now. The Democrats may > unintentionally be giving Bush far too much leverage by not sticking > to that demand as the central one and making its case to the country > about why leaving Iraq is what is needed, not just constraining the > military madness at the top. It will find a receptive audience—over > 70% of the public now believes that we are heading in the wrong > direction. But it needs the articulation of a clear alternative.>> That's why the central issue at this moment is getting a clear > alternative vision, and unfortunately we are not getting that either > from the Democrats or from the radicals in the anti-war movement. The > truth remains that there is a real danger to the world in various > radical ideologies that are catching on and generating terrorists and > assaults against the U.S. Withdrawing troops is, in my view, a first > and essential step, but if that's all we have to say, it's not enough.>> Our job, and by this I mean mine and yours, Norm, must be to provide > our fellow citizens with a different framework to think through the > current world realities. The strategy that I and many others in the > Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) propose is this: we need to > popularize a fundamentally new vision of what brings safety and > security. For right-wingers and for far-too-many liberals seeking to > find an elusive "center" from which to base their politics, the > fundamental paradigm that they hold, what I describe in my book The > Left Hand of God as "the right hand of God," is that real security > comes from domination and control and manipulation of others, and that > the only realistic path is to be savvy and cynical in advancing one's > power to dominate the other before they dominate us. They may debate > whether the best path to domination is through military means or > through diplomacy backed by military, but they agree on the goal: > security through domination. We, on the other hand, need to advocate > for a very different path: security through generosity. It is through > showing people genuine caring for them that they begin to feel o.k. > about caring for us, and when that happens, those who want to > undermine us in other parts of the world suddenly find that the > previous climate of support has disappeared and that is they, rather > than we, who are isolated and viewed as crazy and destructive to the > interests of their own people.>> We've proposed the Global Marshall Plan—having the U.S. take 5% of the > GDP of the U.S. each year for the next twenty years (and using its > leading by example to pressure other G8 countries to eventually join > this) to end once and for all global poverty, homelessness, hunger, > inadequate education, inadequate health care and to repair the > physical environment of our planet earth. Of course we know that this > can't be dumped into the laps of dictators or corrupt democracies—the > monies have to be carefully allocated, through non-governmental > agencies (NGOs) and various international agencies (and, if the UN can > separate itself from its own corruption and sectarian politics, then > also through UN agencies). Market mechanisms are part of the answer > (small loans in rural villages have been proved useful in some cases, > as one example). The idea is to work this out carefully, involve the > people in the planning, be environmentally sensitive and culturally > sensitive, as the plan gets implemented.>> We are not stuck on the 5% figure, nor even on the Global Marshall > Plan itself, except to model how generosity is not an empty category, > but one which could be intelligently filled in. We will also support > the Millenium Goals, and other plans to take steps toward eliminating > global poverty, though we actually believe that we will be more > successful and mobiize more people if we back a plan that is more > visionary than one that has less scope. But what we are committed to > is getting people to understand that it's not just the war in Iraq > that is misguided, but the whole way we orient toward each other and > toward the whole world that is deeply perverted, spiritually and > ethically bankrupt, and actually self-destructive in the not-too-long-run.>> Ok, so what do I want from you?>> Well, I want you to enlist in our campaign to spread this way of > thinking. If you are not yet a member of the Network of Spiritual > Progressives, I want you to join. If you are, I want you to bring in > new members. If you can't do anything else, I'd like you to send us > money to help with this campaign so we can buy ads in media, hire > staff, and otherwise build the campaign (you can donate on line at > www.spiritualprogressives.org, or by sending a check to Tikkun/NSP at > 951 Cragmont Ave, Berkeley, Ca. 94708). STRETCH YOURSELF BEYOND WHAT > YOU'D NORMALLY GIVE--THIS IS A CRITICAL MOMENT AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE > TO ACT DECISIVELY, INTELLIGENTLY, AND IN A WAY THAT IS CONNECTED TO > OUR HIGHEST VISION OF THE WORLD.>> Yet there are more active ways to help.> 1. Bring this message and come to the demonstration against the war > being sponsored by the United for Peace and Justice Jan. 27th in > Washington, D.C. March with the NSP contingent and come to the > spiritual/religious celebration we will be holding immediately after > the march. More details will come to you the week of Jan. 21st.>> 2. Help us build Generosity Sunday, April 15th. So many Americans will > be experiencing deep distress this year for having to spend so much of > their tax dollars to support American militarism. So we are using Tax > Day to build local events around the U.S. focused on the idea of a new > paradigm of safety: From Domination to Generosity—a New Path for > Homeland Security. We are asking you to organize an event in your > local church, synagogue, mosque,> labor union, community center, college or university or theological > school. The event should take the form either of a public march or a > teach-in or some other way to get out to the public the notion that > people are organizing for Security Through Generosity. If you live in > a city with many such institutions, you might try to pull some of them > together to do a larger city-wide teach-in or march. And you might > have people at the post offices that entire weekend as Americans rush > to pay their taxes at the last minute—and remind them of how good > they'd feel if they felt that these taxes were actually going to > eliminate poverty and suffering around the world, instead of, as now, > increasing the world's suffering through war and economic and > political domination. I'll send you more info about how to do this if > you want—just contact Nichola@tikkun.org and let her know that you > want to help build this activity in some sphere of your life (work, > school, neighborhood, religious or community institution, whatever..,) > We are encouraging people in Canada and other countries to do this > same kind of event on the day that their taxes are due!>> 3. Build an on-going chapter of the Network of Spiritual Progressives > in your community.>> So, yes this might seem far away from the immediacy of our anger at > what Bush is doing with his escalation of troops in Iraq. But anger > alone will not bring us the world we want. It has to be mixed with a > hopeful vision of a different kind of world—and with people who are > willing to work for the next several years to undermine all the denial > and all the cynicism that keep so many Americans from going for the > kind of world that they'd actually love to see happen but don't > believe possible.>> You might be saying "I'm not so optimistic about the American public." > I hope you'll read my editorial in the newest (Jan/Feb) issue of > Tikkun magazine (if you haven't yet subscribed, joining the Network of > Spiritual Progressives gets you a year sub). I'll show you why there > is plenty of grounds to be hopeful, and how the cynicism about other > Americans is one of the things that makes us less impactful even when > they agree with our ideas. Recognizing how to understand the > psychodynamics of American society, and the goodness of many people > who don't initially agree with us or who assert values with which we > disagree, is one of the main projects in my book The Left Hand of > God—so please read it if you are feeling cynical about what can be > accomplished.>> I hope you'll never say in the future: "I didn't know what to do when > faced with Bush's intransigence." This is what to do, and it's a path > that can actually make a huge difference as our ideas start to > permeate the political base of the Democrats, Republicans, Greens, the > labor movement, the women's movement, the civil rights community, the > human rights activists, and the peace movement. But it won't happen if > you just wait for someone else to do it—you have to take some steps to > make it real, and this is how. There are tens of millions of Americans > who disagree with Bush, but they always get stuck on not wanting the > U.S. to just abandon the world to the crazies that are daily acting > out terrible things in Iraq,Iran, and elsewhere. But a strategy of > generosity doesn't abandon the world, it involves ourselves, but not > with a desire to control but a desire to care for others in any way > that we can find to do so. Nothing will work if we don't approach this > whole venture with that spirit. And it is in that spirit that I offer > these ideas and this invitation to you to work with me and us (the > 5,000 members of the NSP).>>> Warm regards and blessings for a world of peace, justice and love,> Michael>> Rabbi Michael Lerner> Editor, Tikkun www.tikkun.org> Chair of the NSP (with co-chairs Cornel West and Benedictine Sister > Joan Chittister)> Rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue which meets in San Francisco and Berkeley> RabbiLerner@tikkun.org> To contact the NSP directly: Nichola@tikkun.org>>>>>>Dear Rabbi Michael,I too fear the future given the lack of a clear vision or strategy among America's leaders and among those frustrated by conventional strategies to heal the world. I like the broad goal of a Global Marshall Plan, but not the means based on what you call the Left Hand of God, a metaphor to appeal to compassionate people on the left of the political and ideological spectrum. But, unlike you, I don't rely on the Left Hand or Right Hand of God, but the mind and spirit of God Who commanded us, based on the human compassion that moves people like you and me: "Justice, Justice, thou shall pursue." In other word, Michael, I don't buy the intellectual basis of the left's understanding of "social justice" or "economic justice." It does not lead to global peace but instead leads to soft-headed consequences and conflicts such as those described at http://www.globaljusticemovement.org/thirdway.htm)If I've offended you, that is not my intent. I offer you more than money. I offer you a new vision, as reflected in my paper delivered to the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (http://www.cesj.org/thirdway/paradigmpapers/csid-040528.htm).No, my hope is that you will take the time to read and reflect on how the Just Third Way might offer a more practical and inclusionary strategy for delivering Peace through Compassionate Justice to every member of human society.For addressing the mess in the Middle East, for example, from a religiously and ideologically pluralistic paradigm of compassionate justice, see http://www.cesj.org/thirdway/paradigmpapers/iraq-nationbuilding.htm and http://www.cesj.org/homestead/strategies/regional-global/abrahamfederation-nk.html)Attached is a letter from George McGovern, reflecting that George sees the moral superiority of an agenda based on the "Just Third Way." For other evidence of the "overwhelming moral power" of our radically centrist position, see http://www.cesj.org/homestead/strategies/regional-global/pej-reagan.html and other writings at www.cesj.org, www.globaljusticemovement.org and www.americanrevolutionaryparty.us.I respect your sincerity and good intentions. But I see no evidence that you have ever read any of my previous emails to you, and have concluded that Tikkun suffers from bureaucratic paralysis not unlike that of government, where the leader never really hears any messages of true wisdom coming from unconventional sources. When you're ready to engage in an eyeball-to-eyeball dialogue with me personally on our differences, we can discuss ways of working together to heal the world.In Peace, only through Compassionate Justice,Norm Kurland

From David Goff, PhD.

“Learning community becomes a social spiritual practice when a group attempts to learn through focusing attention upon the interactions occurring with in the group” (Goff, 1994. p.4). To reach this stage, individuals have to develop the capacity to tolerate discomfort, ambiguity, making public mistakes, and “not knowing.” They must be willing to risk being vulnerable and open. This requires unlearning socially conditioned attitudes and interactive patterns typical of normal discourse and developing the ability to tolerate the resulting confusion, uncertainty, anxiety and self-doubt, that arise as assumptions formerly held as “truths” are called into question. The individual is in a process of emerging into a more complex, diverse world with greater ambiguity and paradox.

“The transformative learning that characterizes a vital learning community arises through sustained and disciplined effort” (p. 5). In order to sustain this process over time, it is helpful to have knowledge of specific disciplines that support the process of transformative learning and the development of learning community. Goff lists eight “spiritual social disciplines” which provide a framework for supporting individual and communal development (see Table 1). They are personal responsibility, skillful communications, inclusivity, focused attention, shared reflection, detachment, multidimensional thinking, and ecological awareness. “The goal of these practices is to help us rediscover a direct experience of our underlying interrelatedness and to empower us to respond collectively to the painful circumstances which threaten our well-being” (Goff, 1994, p. 2). Practicing these disciplines supports the development of personal skills that contribute to creating a dynamic and open practice field (akin to sacred space in sacred circles [Baldwin, 1994] and education as described by Palmer [1998]).

These practices use methods which sensitize group members to the quality of their interactions, promote the development of personal skills that increase the quality of communication and capacity for emotional connection, develop group consciousness by cultivating the awareness that there are multiple ways of perceiving and expressing truth, and using these diverse perspectives to enlarge group perspective. They foster trust, mutual reliance, and a sense of belonging; develop compassion and empathy; cultivate the realization that one can extend one’s individual sense of self to include others; and cultivate the skills which support a capacity for living and acting interdependently.

By practicing these disciplines, individuals develop the capacity for presence, high quality communication, and openness to the group process that emerges moment by moment. The synergy between the individuals’ efforts catalyzes the development of the community as a whole.

When a community begins to practice together, the stage is set for the emergence of synergies which lead to the emergence of a collective form of intelligence or shared consciousness. This group mindfulness is then capable of grasping more of the multifaceted complexity of the moment – providing a perspective that makes it possible for individual members and the group as a whole to perceive the ecological impact of thoughts and actions. (Goff, 1995, p. 6)

Table 1: Disciplines of Learning Community

Disciplines	Methods	Emergent Qualities
Personal responsibility	Full participation Honoring time commitments Sharing responsibility for the process Suspension of roles Respecting self and others	Increases personal presence Enhances the level of engagement Facilitates differentiation and the power of position thus maximizing available diversity Promotes an atmosphere of mutual respect and social equality
Skillful communication	Say your name before you speak Speak only when moved to Use “I statements” Speak personally & specifically Listen carefully & respectfully Avoid cross talk Inquire into & reflect upon each other’s perspectives	Reinforces assumption of personal responsibility Increases awareness of otherness as differences are made explicit Promotes respect for differences Makes palpable the multi-faceted nature of truth Supports the emergence of the chaos of multiple competing realities to occur in a socially responsible manner Arouses consciousness of the complexities and rigors of social interdependence
Detachment	Surrendering of Assumptions Agendas Preconceptions Judgments Prejudices Ideological positions	Makes explicit personal and existential vulnerability Develops a capacity for “not knowing” Supports reflection and awareness Promotes keeping all options open Provides access to “the human resource of wisdom” Cultivates a capacity to “care deeply from an objective place”

Table 1 (cont.): Disciplines of Learning Community

	Disciplines	Methods	Emergent Qualities
Multi- dimensional thinking		Group inquiry into contradictory and paradoxical perspectives Shared reflection upon these complexities Group examination and shared reflection upon interrelatedness of meanings made at the personal level and those existing at community or cultural levels	Discloses patterns such as the interrelatedness of personal assumptions and larger cultural processes Develops the capacity to think systemically and to examine the effects of participation in larger systems Provides access to the experience of the transpersonal nature of participation in larger systems
Ecological awareness		Practicing inclusivity Focusing attention upon how separations occurs and connections are maintained Focused attention and shared reflection upon the patterns of interrelationship which extend through the personal and the cultural to the environment	Sensitizes the group to the quality of connections Supports emergent awareness of the implicit unity underlying the group’s experience Makes explicit that all behavior is social and ecological Increases likelihood of actions that are more socially and ecologically responsible
Inclusivity		Observing and sharing tendencies toward the exclusion of self and others Observing and sharing how separation is maintained Avoiding trying to fix, heal, or convert others Inquiring into others’ perspectives Identifying, suspending, examining, and sharing judgments	Promotes awareness of patterns of denial and exclusiveness Extends the awareness of the group toward its edges Promotes engagement with the unconscious of the group Creates maximum support for the emergence of minority positions Promotes conditions which are optimal for learning

Table 1 (cont.): Disciplines of Learning Community

	Disciplines	Methods		Emergent Qualities
	Focused attention		· Identifying, suspending, and examining: Judgments Assumptions Agendas · Inquiring into others’ perspectives · Focusing upon context and meaning		Highlights the usefulness and limitations of mental models Discloses how attachment impedes perception and separates one from the direct experience Generates an extended field of awareness Supports the emergence of group consciousness
Shared reflection		· Shared inquiry into, examination of, and reflection upon: Judgments Assumptions Perceptions and Vulnerabilities		Cultivates a capacity to hold complex and multi-leveled perceptions Allows patterns and inter-relationships to be made explicit Supports the emergence of synergies which extend the group’s awareness Renders more palpable and meaningful the interconnectedness of the group’s experience

Note: From “The Disciplines of Learning Community,” by D. Goff, 2001, Unpublished manuscript, pp. 7-9. Reprinted with permission.

Peace is perfected activity; that is perfect which is complete in all its aspects, balanced in each direction and under complete control of the will.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

It is useless to discuss the peace of the world. What is necessary just now is to create peace in ourselves that we, ourselves, become examples of love, harmony and peace. That is the only way of saving the world and ourselves.

from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VIII/VIII_1_17.htm

Peace is independently felt within oneself. It is not dependent upon the outer sensation. It is something that belongs to one, something that is one's own self. ... Peace is not a knowledge, peace is not a power, peace is not a happiness, but peace is all these. And besides, peace is productive of happiness. Peace inspires one with knowledge of the seen and unseen, and in peace is to be found the divine Presence. It is not the excited one who conquers in this continual battle of life. It is the peaceful one who tolerates all, who forgives all, who understands all, who assimilates all things. The one who lacks peace, with all his possessions, the property of this earth or quality of mind, is poor even with both. He has not got that wealth which may be called divine and without which man's life is useless. For true life is in peace, a life which will not be robbed by death.

The secret of mysticism, the mystery of philosophy, all is to be attained after the attainment of peace. You cannot refuse to recognize the divine in a person who is a person of peace. It is not the talkative, it is not the argumentative one, who proves to be wise. He may have intellect, worldly wisdom, and yet may not have pure intelligence, which is real wisdom. True wisdom is to be found in the peaceful, for peacefulness is the sign of wisdom. It is the peaceful one who is observant. It is peace that gives him the power to observe keenly. It is the peaceful one, therefore, who can conceive, for peace helps him to conceive. It is the peaceful who can contemplate; one who has no peace cannot contemplate properly. Therefore, all things pertaining to spiritual progress in life depend upon peace.

And now the question is what makes one lack peace? The answer is, love of sensation. A person who is always seeking to experience life in movement, in activity, in whatever form, wants more and more of that experience. In the end he becomes dependent upon the life which is outside, and so he loses in the end his peace, the peace which is his real self. ... the first thing is to seek the kingdom of God within ourselves, in which there is our peace. As soon as we have found that, we have found our support, we have found our self. And in spite of all the activity and movement on the surface, we shall be able to keep that peace undisturbed if only we hold it fast by becoming conscious of it.

from http://wahiduddin.net/mv2/I/I_IV_6.htm

Hazrat Samuel Lewis

Until the soul has found itself far above the mind-mesh, there cannot be peace. Peace is found at the center, at the hub of things, nevertheless it cannot be separated from activity. Cessation of activity may be called non-activity, not peace; cessation of war may be called non-war, but peace is a very inappropriate term for it.

Whenever there is a change of feeling, thought or action, there is some rearrangement; and every type of change, arrangement or rearrangement causes or accompanies a dis-equilibrium. Any change of equilibrium is necessarily of the nature of war. Only when equilibrium can be maintained without change is there peace. This is only found when the will has entire control of the mind.

All vibrations and atoms below the mind-mesh are constantly in motion, changing themselves and causing changes to others and being changed except where they are held in place by a stronger force. It is love or will that stand above law, which can fix these atoms and vibrations. This fixation is symbolically studied in alchemy and directly studied in the inward mystical process.

It is the Divine Will, which can control all wills and all minds, and it is the Divinity that is the perfected activity. Therefore what the Buddhists call Nirvana is nothing but the natural state of God above all distinctions and differences, thus Pure Peace.

Joshua Meyer

The intention of many artists the world over is to withdraw from the materialism that dominates the art industrial complex and focus on social responsibility. This is not an easy path nor one our culture is anxious to compensate us for. Many artists are working to find ways to make a real and lasting contribution funneled through their honed craft and their developed sensitivity. For most, this withdrawal from the conditioning of art school and art world powers that be requires an inner search. This inner search needs structure. Some have turned to yoga, some to meditation, others to spiritual schools and still others to formal religion. It's important to find a structure that works for one. Gaining peace within is essential to finding and developing ways to inspire peace in the world around us.

~~~ Peace is perfected activity; that is perfect which is complete in all its aspects, balanced in each direction and under complete control of the will.