Weekly Wonder #3: Akoha-Play it Forward Card Game

I have been intrigued by this "Play It Forward" game for nearly a year. Of course, I let one thing and then another get in the wa of my actually starting to play. Well, today I am buying my starter deck! (And, maybe a few extras to share with friends...can't play the game alone :-)!)

I don't a great deal of my own words to offer...yet...so I will introduce what Akoha has to say and update with my own experiences later:

From: https://akoha.com/

What is Akoha?

Akoha is a real-world and virtual game where you carry out missions that involve performing small acts of kindness for others. The activities of Akoha players are described on Akoha cards that involve real-world and virtual missions. As Akoha players perform more missions, they advance in the game, recruit new players, and spread good deeds across the planet. Akoha cards include missions like “Donate an Hour of Your Time”, “Give Someone a Book” and “Make Someone Smile.”

In contrast to increasingly rich virtual worlds and massively multiplayer games on the Internet, Akoha takes place in the real world, turning everyday life into a massive playground. Akoha is simple to play with your friends and family, so that every public place becomes part of Akoha’s world.

Akoha allows players to see their accomplishments, track the movement of cards in play, and share photos and videos, creating a highly interactive and immersive experience.

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From: http://community.akoha.com/

As a company we are working to create a fun platform that provides a structure for players to be inspired to complete acts of kindness, a social and viral mechanism for those acts to spread throughout the world and a business that can support a variety of people and organizations goals for spreading their acts of change.

But the principles behind Akoha are beliefs that don’t require someone to play our game.

1) We believe that everyone has within them the ability to make a difference in the world.
2) We know that spreading kindness is fun, should be documented & celebrated by sharing those stories with friends.
3) We believe that we can aggregate many small acts to improve the world to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Together we can use technology to bring together other like minded agents of change and empower them to band together to be capable of tackling even the largest issues facing our world. We sometimes refer to this as the “Wikipedia of World Improvement” — where everyone can participate and together we can accomplish more then anyone of us could alone.

Weekly Wonder #2: "My Commitment" Volunteer Database from the Clinton Global Initiative

I am sure the Clinton Global Initiative has been given ample publicity in the blogoshpere. What I would like to highlight is the database of volunteer opportunities included within the MyCommitment.org site.

Within what CGI calls the My Commitment 101 Kit is a link to a database that allows one to search for volunteer opportunities by zip code (there are other searches, but the zip code search brings volunteerism close to the reality and doability of home):

[Quote from site] Are you looking for a specific opportunity in your community? Use this form to search our Volunteer Database to find out how teens, groups, seniors and even those looking to volunteer virtually can get involved in their community—once or on an ongoing basis: http://www.mycommitment.org/my-commitment-101/volunteer

I know many of us, me included, have the essence of "I hope to help" floating ever-near. But, we spend more time wishing to help than taking action. The Volunteer Database is a catalyst. In fact, after searching my own zip code, I am not sure I will be able to remain in a state of hoping. The opportunities are now palpable, close. I will now be haunted by the guilt of inaction.

So, YOU....GO NOW....find the people near you who need your help! Again, from the site:

Thank you for your interest in making a commitment to better the world, one act of giving at a time. There’s so much to be done, both down the street and around the globe. We know you want to make a difference, and we’re excited that you’ve decided to come to MyCommitment.org to take action.

Welcome|Get Inspired|Get Informed|Get Started|Stay Engaged

No act of giving is too big or too small. Whether it’s hosting a potluck to raise money for your favorite cause or volunteering with your church group once a month to clean a local park—everyone can give something.

Inside this My Commitment 101 Kit you’ll find everything you need to get started on your commitment, including a database of volunteer opportunities available in communities worldwide, downloadable charity badges to post on your blog or website, 50 tips for improving the world, lists of organizations and groups you might want to join or buy from, and more!

We hope you will invite others to join you on your commitment to better the world and we look forward to hearing your story about giving of your time, of your skills and of yourself.

Happy Giving!

Sincerely,
The MyCommitment.org Team

GO DO!!!

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Someone asked, "Why Blue?"

Someone asked, "Why Blue?"

My answer is two-fold:



Fold 1>>

Prologue by Carl Phillips

If the sea could dream, and if the sea
were dreaming now, the dream
would be the usual one: Of the Flesh.
The letter written in the dream would go
something like: "Forgive me -- love, Blue."

...Carl Phillips from his book Cortege

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Fold 2 >>

The Bluestocking society was an informal women's social and educational movement that came into being in England in the mid-eighteenth century in imitation of a similar - though more formal - movement in France.

Bluestocking is a disparaging term, no longer in common use, for an educated, intellectual woman (wikipedia).

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love,
blue

Favorite Music #1: Something For Everybody: Baz Luhrmann

I am moved by too many albums, songs and snippets to have one favorite piece of music. But, Something for Everybody is one album that never fails to bring a smile.

The most famous song from this album is Baz Luhrmann's Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen). KarmaTube has a better description of the song than I could offer (part is from Amazon.com I think):

[Quote from KarmaTube] Described as the commencement speech she would give if ever asked to deliver one, this charming, whimsical music video found its origins in a 1997 Chicago Tribune column by Mary Schmich. Two years later, Australian film director Baz Luhrmann (who would go on to direct the Academy Award-winning Moulin Rouge) set Schmich's musings, virtually word for word, to music. Rumored--falsely--to have been an MIT commencement address given by the author Kurt Vonnegut, the Luhrmann production reached #1 in the UK and Ireland, and became a cult hit in the United States.

Here's the Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen) video (7 minutes):



Everybody's Free is not the only gem on this album. It is full of silliness and wonderful surprises. The music ranges from techno to Doris Day to opera. If you need some music to move, groove and grin by...get this album! Here's the list of tracks:

1. Bazmark Fanfare
2. Young hearts run free (the overture mix)
3. Lovefool (snooper version)
4. Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps
5. Time after time (the S.F.E. version)
6. Che Gelida Manina (your tiny hand is frozen)
7. When doves cry (extended mix)
8. Love is in the air (fran mix)
9. NUTBUD (houseboats of Kashmir mix)
10. Happy feet (high heels mix)
11. Angel (7 inch mix)
12. Os Quindos De Ya Ya
13. Aquarius & Let the sunshine in
14. Everybody's free (to wear sunscreen) mix
15. I"m losing you
16. Now until the break of day (single version)
17. Jupiter (edit) [from the planets]

More from YouTube:


When Doves Cry--Romeo & Juliet Remix (4 min)

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Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps--Doris Day (2.5 min)

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Aquarius & Let the sunshine in (4 min)

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Che Gelida Manina--La Boheme (5.5 min)

On Saying "No!" in order to Grow

Being a Southern Girl (not raised in the South, but of a Southern family, none-the-less), "No," has been instilled in me as difficult. In this case, "difficult" is a multifaceted concept: If one says "no", one is being difficult; If one says "no", one is causing difficulty for others; thus, "no" (particularly, "No!") becomes a difficult thing to say.

As I was doing my recreational scanning of the far too many blogs I have syndicated into my Google Reader, I came upon a post from Wild Moods (http://buddhaandthecouch.blogspot.com/) entitled Saying "No!" (and then, "No, thank you."): The skill of filtering experience by MC. This mini-lesson in the the art of saying "no", within the context of maintaining spiritual/mental health, hit close to home.

I have been, as I mentioned in an earlier post, doing my best to find my way back to a state of mindfulness. As part of this quest, I have endeavored to quiet my constantly chattering mind, particularly any self deprecating dialog. To this end, I had to sit back and examine what situations, people and behaviors triggered this destructive self-talk. What I found was hard to accept: Some of the most positive people in my life (those who made me laugh, got me out into the world, introduced me to connective and humane ideas and activities) were the very ones who triggered me to question my own worth. How was I to separate from the positive in order to avoid the negative? Should I? Wouldn't this hurt? Would more be lost than gained?

I came to the decision that, no matter how much pleasure I lost, the pain was too great to keep. And, since I had yet to gain the wisdom needed to control my own painful internal dialog, continuing to associate with anyone who triggered me to injure my own psyche was simply unproductive and harmful. If the relationships could survive my need for separation, a reunion might be possible, once I was more wise. But, for now, separation was the path I must choose.

So, I have separated myself. A couple of weeks ago, I made some painful communications that left me without the company of those people who made me question my worth.

(An aside: I am purposefully avoiding recounting the content of my self-deprecating dialog. I am healing; I just don't need to go there...)

Since the separation, I have felt better; the voice in my head has been kinder, if not quieter. However, I have questioned whether my path toward gaining this measure of comfort was right. I found solace in the post Saying "No!" (and then, "No, thank you."): The skill of filtering experience. The post recounts this Buddhist tale [quoted text]:

An old Brahman (of the priestly class in India) was feeling threatened by Buddha and his teachings, fearing that he would lose his congregation and income. He decided that the only thing to do was to go to Buddha's monastery split his skull. But knowing that Buddha was skilled at logic, the Brahman decided to not talk at all to Buddha, but just to go and commit his deed.

So the Brahman went to Buddha and approached him while he was alone in his interview hall. The Brahman came shouting and cursing, and Buddha said, "Old man, come sit, tell me your problem."

Here the Brahman steeled his will, wanting to not be swayed from his determination by Buddha's talk. He kept coming, cursing, and Buddha again said, calmly, "Come, sit, tell me what is upsetting." The compassion of the Buddha cleared the Brahman's mind for a moment, and he did indeed sit down with the Buddha.

Then the Buddha said, "Tell me old man, what do you do if someone comes to you home and brings you an unwanted gift?"

"Well, I would not accept the gift."

"Yes, and so it is that you have come to my house, and brought this unwanted gift of animosity--well, I refuse it. You get to keep it and take it away, since I do not accept it." At which point the cloud of ignorance lifted from the Brahman and he saw clearly. "How did you learn such a thing, Sir?" The Buddha smiled: "Sit, observe respiration, observe sensation, observe yourself [i.e., meditate]."

Another way of phrasing Buddha's lesson: learn to say no appropriately. The Buddha, because of his level of development, could easily say, "No, thank you," but being able to use some force and even some anger at the beginning stages is also good practice. Keep good company, think good thoughts, do not invite in those influences which bring you down.

The post also offers this nugget of wisdom:

The path to this simplicity is to learn clearly what actually is toxic to us, and that requires examining ourselves and actually seeing, as if we were scientists studying ourselves, what input connects to what result. You may have ideas about this, but all ideas need to be put to the test if they are to be truly useful.

My insights into what feeds my negative internal dialog are certainly being "put to the test" right now. And, reading this post from Wild Moods gives me confidence that I am doing the right thing to heal and grow. The trouble is...I miss the good stuff about the people I have had to let go...and I'm a little lonely. I am also learning something that is at odds with my choice to separate: When love is real, it does not stop. I very much love and wish I could engage, actively in loving one particular soul from whom I have had to separate. I can only hold the hope that my wisdom grows quickly, and that he will allow me to re-embrace him into my world when I am free of thoughts that trigger pain. Yes, I do feel lonely missing him (his voice, his good stuff). Lonely, but learning...definitely learning.

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Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Speaking_with_guest.jpg

Weekly Wonder #1: To Think is Human, an interactive, multimedia magazine

I have determined to discover and showcase at least one site per week that enhances our shared state of being human. I hope to find sites offering publications or activities that promote both introspection and connection. Let us hope my quests are successful and my determination lasts :-).

My first "Weekly Wonder" is To Think Is Human. The online, interactive , multimedia magazine describes itself this way:

No other media covers the past three thousand years of global thought the way we do. We want to make it easy for you to stay familiar with the great minds and incredible works of art that have created our civilization. Eternal wisdom needs to be reviewed and reviewed again; inspirational guidance needs to be constant. That's what we offer. We are certain that you will be happier and healthier if, often enough, you read To Think Is Human instead of the news. And, no one else goes to the great lengths we do to select Passages for you personally -- each of your Issues is uniquely crafted based upon your Ratings and upon your responses to our unique "picture ending" artwork presentation.

As this description mentions, To Think is Human, like Pandora from the Music Genome Project (maybe next week's wonder), endeavors to personalize content based on user feedback. Each post finishes a with set of images. Subscribers are asked to select which image best represents the text and multimedia content, for them. In other words, you introspectively reflect on your experience interacting with the content and select a visual representation of that experience.

Here is a link to the Sample/Free Tour offered as an example of the magazine's passages. This is another sample, from the category Spirituality: The Dhammapada-Gautama Buddha. Other samples can be found through the links near the top of the site's home page.

Though I wish all the conscious-enhancing wonders on the Web could be free, producing quality content does call for cash. From what I have seen, unlike Pandora, To Think is Human is not splashed with corporate advertisements (encouraging). Instead, there is a yearly subscription cost--currently $29.95, including a free T-Shirt. Subscribers receive five passages each week, selected in accordance with their previous feedback.

The publication also has a presence on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/tothinkishuman. Here, you can view an array of videos that are included as part of passages, along with the text and graphic art. Here is an example (well worth viewing):

YouTube Video-Prentice Mulford's Thoughts Are Things

To Think is Human draws from literature, philosophy, mythology, spirituality, history and some politics and science. From what I have seen, editor Tom Lombardo and his colleagues find content that truly reaches beyond the mundane world toward building the internal connection between each individual's mind, body and spirit...and, in turn, that individual's connection to the whole of the human experience.

I won't write on and on about my impression; I will encourage you to have To Think is Human experiences of your own.

Mindfulness & Writing from "Deliberate Inattentiveness"

My kismetic discoveries in the blogosphere continue.

I have been on a personal quest to reconnect with what Buddhists call a state of mindfulness. The short definition might be: Living in the here and now. However, there is much more to it. I am sure I'll soon be visited by words to explain my life-long relationship with mindfulness and they will serve as a post here--more ramblings on my own state of being. For now, I will just say that mindfulness is the human state into which I was born. But, by adulthood, the mindfulness had been ridiculed and punished out of me. Western, at least American, social institutions (schools, families, employers) tend to reject the placidity of mindful people. The mindful ones just don't take things seriously enough; they are not worried enough about the future; they don't show enough fear.

Anyway, today I came across the Guardian Unlimited Poetry Workshop. This site sponsors a monthly opportunity to have one's poetry critiqued by a published author; it is described this way:

Want to have your work reviewed by a published poet?

Every month, our poetry workshop is hosted by a different poet who sets an exercise, chooses the most interesting responses and offers an appraisal of them. That's the hard part taken care of - all you need to do is start writing ...

January 2008 offers a workshop challenge from author Jean Sprackland, rooted in action/motion and mindful observation. This is what Sprackland suggests:

[Sprackland] A few years ago I spent some time at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig in Ireland, with a diverse group of artists, writers, musicians and dancers. I struck up a friendship with an artist called Joanna Kidney, who was making a series of exquisitely beautiful prints based on her observations of the natural world. Joanna described how she would start work every day by walking with a small sketchbook in her hand. She felt that the very act of carrying the sketchbook made her more observant. Whenever she noticed something, she would stop and sketch roughly for a minute or two without even looking at the page, keeping her gaze fixed on the sky, leaf, water or whatever it was. Then she would turn the page and move on.

I decided to try deliberate inattentiveness as a way of starting poems. Almost all the writing we do in our lives is so careful - and nothing demands greater carefulness than the drafting and crafting of a poem. But that comes later: at the beginning what's required is the chaotic, subversive, irrational yet often brilliantly lucid potential of the subconscious, and to get to that you have first to trick the conscious brain into relaxing its control-freak tendencies.

There's a practical side to this, too. If I'm not writing, and can't write, no amount of time spent sitting at my desk will help, but walking can often break the deadlock. When the poem won't come to me, I must go to the poem.

So after the excesses of Christmas, here's a simple way to cleanse the palate and get writing again:

Take a walk. It doesn't matter where: somewhere new or familiar, urban or rural. Go out for at least half an hour, to give yourself time to relax into it and stop thinking of it as a writing exercise. Have a small sketchbook in your hand, and a pencil.

Whenever you notice something, pause. Look, listen, experience it. Then open the sketchbook and write, carelessly and quickly, for a minute or so. You probably won't be able to write without looking at the page, but do not read back as you write, and neither think nor reflect. Keep focused on the thing itself, and try to let the writing be something that happens, rather than something you're doing.

As soon as the writing stops, flip the page and walk on. Find the next place to stop and write again. Aim to write something on five or six pages before you go home.

Leave the scraps of writing - your sketches - shut firmly in the book for at least 24 hours. Then you can read them (if they're legible!) and start to work with them. They are the raw material for some poetry experiments. You are not obliged to use all of it, and you are allowed to add, change and take any liberties you wish. The important thing at this stage is to move away from the original experience - the walk - and begin to transform the material in some way, however small or subtle.

The challenge continues on, providing instructions for submissions, etc.
Read the complete details for the Guardian Unlimited January 2008 Workshop here: http://books.guardian.co.uk/poetryworkshop/story/0,,2240640,00.html

I am not sure that I will be submitting anything. But, I am sure that what Sprackland suggests is worthy, wise. We could all use to step outside of our incessant minds and travel a path of "deliberate inattentiveness", giving our subconscious wisdom a chance to be our guide.

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Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Trees-sky.jpg