First sketches

@elizabethwillmotth : It's great to see how you meshed the 3 threads that spoke to you most! Interesting the similarity you found between the video @gwynjones shared about the astronauts' take on the 'overview effect' and the video about the San-Francisco fog. I think that the intensity of the experience (body&mind) required to achieve that same feeling may vary hugely between people. Just like @aldodemartelaere said. Hence it's useful to multiply the sensory experiences. To me roughly speaking there are 7 of these senses:
- 5 (Aristotle): Hearing, Sight, Smell, Touch, Taste
- 1 (neurology): Kinesthetic = awareness of movement (balance & acceleration, Temperature, pain, time etc)
- 1 (buddhism): Mind (non physical sensations and perceptions)

As well as creating environments for sparks to emerge, I believe it is important to suggest various gateways for people to connect with other likeminded people. So once inspired to act, they can go on creating their own path …

@gwynjones: Are you planning to be a UK charity and to fundraise in the US? If so, we've just reached the necessary quorum of board members to set-up Spring Fund USA. It should be up and running this summer. Your charity might benefit from its mechanism. Here is the website in progress FYI:http://www.spring-fund-uk.org/usa/

@rachelbwickert, I realise I'm lagging behind a bit. I read some of your texts you refer to above (awakenings and science and bodystorming), and here follows my attempt to understand them. I realise this is at most a very small part of what you are thinking, but let me know whether I'm driving on the right track. This is important to me, to know whether I can actually contribute something to the discussion.

The meaning of legal concepts is embedded in practices. By their very nature, practices are open-ended. To really get a grip on their meaning, one should participate in those practices.

However, that is not always possible, and might not even be desirable. Art comes to the rescue here. As participating in its creation - somehow - offers an 'alternative' to participating in those practices, hence to understanding the world that lies embedded in them. Empathy comes in here, too. As the creative process enables us to understand and respect worlds that would otherwise remain closed to us.

But participating in creation does not only enable understanding. It also fosters a sense of belonging, and stimulates our capacity to act in the creation of a better world, in some sense. Hence the therapeutic value of creative engagement.

One of the links I see between art and societal practices is that they both have an inherent richness that makes our involvement with them endless. One can never be a specialist in them. For example, one can return to the same poem, painting, or piece of music, over and over, and will always discover new things.

But what is of interest here, is not so much 'Art' with a capital, but the participation of potentially everybody in creative activities. And what makes an activity creative, is that the whole person - which means thinking as well as the senses - are intensely involved.

@sam, I made a donation on sunday for your book 'Garland', and am very curious now. I wanted to say something about your website too. Did you know that part of it is unreadable on an Ipad (at least on mine, but I suspect it's a general problem): after a few seconds, the screen turns black. Damn!

Anyhow, a good afternoon to all of you (also to @gwynjones and @elizabethwillmotth, I hope I'm forgetting nobody

Oh sorry, I didn't mean @sam but @samburcher!

HI Aldo,

I have emailed you a PDF copy of Garland. Thanks for letting me know about the problem with my website. I will try to get that fixed. Hope you enjoy the book.

@aldodemartelaere Yes, you are definitely on a similar wavelength!

Have you heard of the Indian Parable of the Blind men and the elephant? (pic attached)

As you said, while much of our individual knowing is embedded into our 'doing', our shared humanity gives anyone a potential to access the essence of things. The means vary hugely depending on what you were born with and your experience.

I found this simple truth struggling in our world where hyper specialised expertise is valued more financially and otherwise than other types. To me all are as relevant when it comes to finding a way forward as a collective to solve a complex problem e.g. be it a trans-generational familial trauma, a personal crisis, the dying of bees, a company dysfunctional culture etc.

The arts/creative activities level out that difference of value allocated to different types of knowing by enabling all present to reconnect with their own whole humanity and therefore to the collective even if only for an instant. It is as if it was opening an extra-verbal channel…

That has been my experience of the theatre workshop I did for instance: http://rdwbizz.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-rainbow-of-desire-boal-method-of.html

@gwynjones @elizabethwillmotth @aldodemartelaere @samburcher

I've been on the look out for inspiring examples of news innovative artistic collaborative concept. I stumbled on this one from the Big Live Arts Group (a loomio group based in New Zealand). It has got many of the essential ingredients that we've been discussing about e.g. the mix of open innovation, tech/scientific insights, the arts/crafts, sustainability, collaboration via cross-fertilisation, community spirit regeneration, autonomy and experimentation.

They are happy for me to share it so here it is attached. Any sparks? ;-)

Hi Rachel,

I've just got back from five days farming in Devon. Can't open your link for Big Live Arts, so will search through Google and get back to you with my thoughts. Sam

Hey @samburcher, farming in Devon sounds fab! Attached the snapshot of the google doc FYI…

page1

page 2

and some of the pics that go with it!

I think I'm getting closer, @rachelbwickert:

There is a kind of thickness and richness in the patterns of daily life, that specialisations are frantically running around and are unable to finally capture in a way that means something to most people. Art, however, shares in the thickness of its 'subject' and simultaneously clarifies it.

Again, the image of concentric circles comes to mind. It also reminds me a bit of Dante's Purgatory, where well-intentioned people move around restlessly, striving for Heaven. It also makes me think of the subtitle of shiftN - my former employer: 'clarity in complexity'. Only, the pursued clarity is not primarily an intellectual, but an artistic endeavour.

Yes! @aldodemartelaere You got it.

Interesting you mentioned shitN. I had an interesting exchange with Philippe last week around that issue through the prism of the different but, I believe complementary ways, we approach the process of "Resilience" (and therefore its enablement).

ShiftN's primary angle is through the intellect first than, possibly, acknowledging the lived-experience: see the community resilience systems map they recently did for a US Foundation here: http://shiftn.com/jpb/ and here http://vis.shiftn.com/sym/#philippe/Resilience%20v%204_1/1

MetM's primary angle (model if you wish) is through the acknowledgement of the visceral experience than bringing the intellect in for good balance: http://rdwbizz.blogspot.be/2014/01/creating-conditions-for-childrens.html

Philippe's view oscillate between these two different positions that he nicely summarised using these 2 questions:
- Is Resilience a set of normative choices within the contours of which we can try to work systemically? 
- Or is Resilience an emergent property that is the result of standing systemically in the world?

I am definitely closer to the emergent property than Philippe, on his spectrum. But while his first interest lies in searching for a model for Resilience, I am more interested in the stories of Resilience crossing life forms. Hence the creation of a number of stuff that can support that on a grand scale.

In essence, I believe the key lies in embodied not disembodied, in circles not lines, in emergence not certainty.

This said Philip and I, we both feel that each others approach could be complementary. Rest to find how. To Be Continued...

@samburcher @elizabethwillmotth @gwynjones

Hi everybody,

I find the following article worth thinking about:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/10-things-you-cant-unsee-and-what-that-says-about-your-brain/361335/

The relation between perception and thinking is worth reflecting about, I believe. There is no perceiving without thinking, according to recent findings in neurology.

I think that perception and thought are both consciously involved in experiencing art. There is a constant attempt to free oneself from thought and look or hear or read afresh.

Something similar might be the case in moral judgment. Freeing oneself from thought is here a kind of freeing oneself from prejudice. Which requires empathy.

@rachelbwickert @samburcher @elizabethwillmotth @gwynjones

@aldodemartelaere That is a really interesting article - reminds me also of emotional trauma and how without healing and interventions one can not "unsee" danger in relationships for example.

@rachelbwickert The systems thinking links you have given are very interesting eg http://www.pinterest.com/pin/318066792406168464/
and
http://vis.shiftn.com/sym/#philippe/Resilience v 4_1/1
However this is something totally new to me (but attractive as I am a visual person) so am keen to discuss on our group call later!

V best, Elizabeth

Super Sense

Hello @samburcher @aldodemartelaere @elizabethwillmotth

I received an invite this morning from Super Sense. I thought it fitted well in our discussion here. It is a nice practical example of a way designed to get people out of their comfort zone but comfortably so they can discover and better appreciate their natural surroundings and their own abilities.

Basically, they organize blind experiences that alter the way participants perceive the world with the aim to empower and support each other.

I have no doubt you are familiar with all kinds of team building workshop including the walking on fire ones. I just thought this one was refreshingly different as it turns upside down the idea of disability for a start.

Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiLZI0lk76E&feature=youtu.be

Groups are invited to engage in interactive activities lasting around 3 hours either around a dinner ( I thought of you in particular @Iliana as it could be something you could do in your restaurant?) or during a walk in the wood for example. They have a series of these sessions next week on 20 and 21 June during Bristol Big Green week.

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/super-sense-6329145043?s=23648095

Cheers, Rachel