from Deviantart -- Zero Level by Indonesian artist Sigit Prasetio
What I'm Thinking of Writing (and Podcasting) About Soon:
Love, Conversation and Community: I remain obsessed with the idea that
Whether
you want to change the political or economic system, save the whales,
stop global warming, reform education, spark innovation or anything
else, the answer is in how meaning,
and understanding of what needs to be done, emerges from conversation
in community with people you love, people who care.
I
owe my readers a further explanation of why I think polyamorism is a
necessary ingredient of effective Model Intentional Communities. I also
want to talk about the meaning of 'leader' in the above process, and
whether or not 'leadership' in self-managed, non-hierarchical
relationships, conversations and communities.
OK So How Do We Save the World?: Morphing Love Conversation and Community into a prescription for change. For example, in his acceptance speech this week, Al Gore said:
"So today we dumped another seventy million tons of global-warming
pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, as
if it were an open sewer. And tomorrow we will dump a slightly larger
amount." How can Love Conversation and Community stop this? Can it?
Self-treatment:
I'm ambivalent about modern medicine, and also about naturopathy.
Ultimately I believe we need to learn to take charge, knowledgeably, of
our own health and well-being. That means focusing on prevention of
illness rather than treatment, on self-diagnosis and self-treatment as
much as possible, and on drawing on the understanding of many, rather
than just 'experts' and 'specialists'. What I want to discover is a
regimen for self-treatment, based on indigenous learning but informed
also by the discoveries of modern medicine.
Have Customers Taken Power from Producers?:
James Surowiecki thinks so: "Plenty of us shop the way Homer Simpson
orders wine: buy the second-least-expensive thing on the list. And one
obvious example of consumer irrationality continues to work in stores'
favor; namely, the Christmas shopping season itself. It's not
surprising that, as traditional tactics have become less useful,
retailers have responded by making the holiday season weeks longer than
it used to be. Still, there's no disguising the fact that power has
shifted from sellers to shoppers. And that's left retailers in a
strange position: soon the only hope of turning a profit will be to offer good value for money.
What a radical concept!" Well.....maybe. Or maybe customer power is
just an idealist illusion, like the other corporatist illusions: 'Free'
markets, 'free' trade etc.
Vignette #8
Blog-Hosted Conversation #4:
I'm going to interview one of the women who's lived in a polyamorous
relationship or circle, and who believes that such communities can work
and are the natural way to live, and love. I have five candidates, but
they are, understandably, a little shy about being spokeswomen for such
a complex and controversial lifestyle. So be patient, this will be worth waiting for.
Possible open thread conversation:
What's your self-managed health regimen? When it is human nature to do
what we must, then what's easy and fun, how do you discipline yourself
to look after your health proactively? |
MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
