The following is an update from Suzanne Taylor and TheConversation.org Making Sense of These Times [http://www.theconversation.org] Website. Thank you for your interest. If you wish to be removed from this list at any time, just let us know.

 

________________________________________

 

July 21, 2002

 

 

I've put a new monthly report up.  This time I wrote an overview of what's going on on the site, to connect with those who are sympatico.  I continue to think that cross connecting progressives is something that's lacking and needed.  Do send others to http://www.TheConversation.org. 

 

I want you to see the background info in the report, too.  Here's what I posted:

 

 

Welcome to this Making Sense Of These Times Website. It is a work on behalf of Mighty Companions, Inc. [http://www.mightycompanions.org], a non-profit that serves the alignment of self-aware warriors for a better world. We are closely aligned with the Human Being Society [http://www.humanbeingsociety.org], an artful expression of our common cause for action in the awareness of humanity's oneness.

The spirit of Mighty Companions also was expressed by a great being, whose departure marked the crossover from holding hands in our living room to weaving this web in cyberspace. In the mid-90's, Lex Hixon [http://www.mightycompanions.org/lexhixon] wrote this:

"A coalition already exists in spirit. It is coming together now in the social context by the attraction of its unconventional intelligence and compassionate form of high-mindedness.

"This natural coalition is drawn together by the recognition that the elevation of consciousness is our fundamental life work. This is a genuinely democratic, self-organizing force, flowing through persons of all descriptions. This force does not flourish as any highly structured form. It is not an institution or a foundation or a non-profit company or anything conventionally named.

"This coalition is a living organism -- natural, wild, free. It is made up of individuals devoted to serving the world and developing themselves as finely-tuned instruments of service. They learn to gather in the energy of will-to-good, from which authentic goodwill flows out subtly to the entire world."

Maybe not so subtly now -- the times have changed.

With Lex, we were looking to create Celebrations of the Human Spirit -- the Promise Keepers filled stadiums and we figured we could, too. Now, when saving our lives and not celebrating them seems paramount, here we are on the Net. It's the campfire of our native ancestors, about which Brian Swimme [http://www.theconversation.org/swimme.html], another inspiration to me, has something to say:

"At key times in history, consciousness advances in spurts. In Athens, the foundations for western civilization were laid. At the School at Chartes Cathedral, the vision of the Middle Ages was given form. In the Florentine Academy, Renaissance humanism was brought forth. We are in the midst of such a spurt. Human creativity today gives birth to a new vision of reality, a new cosmology, one that will guide us out of the terrors of the late twentieth century. The creation of a new planetary mythology is an organic process requiring the intelligent participation of millions of minds...If we were attempting to create a new cosmology a hundred thousand years ago, we would meet in a cave, at night, and tell our stories in the flickering lights of the fire. In just such a setting, the most advanced hominid forms gave birth to the first true humans. I think there is something to be said for this tradition. My suggestion is that you gather as a group and reflect together, in the night. If these flickering images and words evoke some of the deeply rooted creativity that is necessary for our advance, this series would have served its purpose." re his tape series, Canticle to the Cosmos.

If you know you are me, get on the list [http://www.theconversation.org/emailus.html] to read updates of what gets posted on our site, and hopefully to chime in. For how good the conversation can get, read the one that's featured now, with Walter Starck [http://www.theconversation.org/c-walterstarck.html].

Whenever we post a Five Star Piece [http://www.theconversation.org/fivestar.html] or a Noteworthy News [http://www.theconversation.org/noteworthy.html] article, there's an intro I write to give the gist of it and why it was selected. It wouldn't take much time for you to look at those pages that have all the archived introductory remarks on them.

Ditto re intros for the two columnists, Geov Parrish an Arianna Huffington, whom we frequently post. Archived intros are on our Archived Columnists page [http://www.theconversation.org/a-archive.html].

We draw from the full pieces we post -- and then some (with links to sources) -- for our Quotes section [http://www.theconversation.org#quotes]. Reading it is another fast way to track what's going on in the world.

For an even shorter tracking, our Soundbites [http://www.theconversation.org/a-soundbites.html] are pithy sentences that have been extracted from all of the above.

One other way to digest what's here, if you are new to it, is to look at our previous Updates [http://www.theconversation.org/updates], which include special "making sense" comments to our listmembers, many of whom are the writers of what's posted on the site.

For more to chew on, see this page for a link to Danny Schechter's daily take on these times, for a brilliant picture of where we're at and why in "Escaping the Matrix," and for an encouragement to get on Michael Moore's list so you can enjoy this beacon of the progressive cause.

Lastly, I call your attention to our Crop Circle Diary [http://www.mightycompanions.org/cropcircles/diary2002.html] for a running report on developments with this phenomenon. We are being visited and signaled. It has been going on at least for decades and possibly for much longer. The Walter Starck conversation will give you a good feel for how important this could be to the evolution of human consciousness, which is the over-riding story going on. May humanity make it through these dangerous times for that evolution to continue, and may this site contribute to that future.

________________________________________

 

If you are receiving this newsletter from a third party, you can sign up
by sending your full name and how you heard of us to:
update@theconversation.org

________________________________________

 

Your feedback is subject to posting here and on our Website. If you do not wish to have your comments posted, please let us know.

You can always visit our What's New Since Last Update [http://www.theconversation.org/new.html] page for links to everything new since we posted a new Monthly Report from Suzanne, June 13, on the site.

We're sending these messages in HTML -- prettier than text. If you prefer text, let us know.