http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e?format=rss Tribe.net. Local Connections http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#16b005e3-2a1e-4d12-9324-374436bdfbdb "<i>A point made recently on Rushkoff's weblog was about the importance of mythology speaking to the masses. I prefer to think of myth as metaphor, and to the extent that Aikido Activism proposes a fairly new type of corporate behavior that few people, if any, have experienced, it is not likely to be so much a difficulty of language as that new metaphors are best experienced versus discussed -- what do you/others think? </i>" Words and terms don't operate all that differently from metaphors ... if there is no correlate in experience then the communication fails. So? There's always analogy and simile ... we are hardly bankrupt. More of an obstacle, IMNSHO, is that superficial cynicism is well rewarded ... it's the catch-22 Buddha faced: unless folk are enlightened, why would they bother to understand a novel approach? (Note: he cut through that Gordian knot ... no real strong reason to believe that we cannot.) regards KC: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 00:51:31 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#16b005e3-2a1e-4d12-9324-374436bdfbdb Ben 2005-06-23T00:51:31Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#ea53c098-10e0-41c3-9a12-b48dab1c588a He wrote: "My question for anyone is how best to magnetize people to such a dialogue" You wrote: " Plain English would be helpful. ireally have no idea what you just said, and i was an English Major." He's a nice guy ... I might not be that nice. <=== has zero tolerance for passive-aggression Thu, 23 Jun 2005 00:47:55 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#ea53c098-10e0-41c3-9a12-b48dab1c588a Ben 2005-06-23T00:47:55Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#64d559b2-2f54-417a-91cb-789fe8611a97 Hi Mark, Those quotes are pretty inspiring - plus they are simple little ideas. Taken all together they pretty well validate (if not define) Aikido Activism. What is so powerful is how they summarize a deeper meaning of life that is often problematic (often subject to superficial misundertandings), but that has keen importance. None of those ideas by themselves are the platform for a party or movement. What I think is possible is to help spawn that movement or party, by encouraging mixing in the right way the right people and the right mix of ideas. Simplifying is key, but there is a lot of deception today parading as simplicity ... and even the people who may have felt they benefited (and indeed benefited shorter term) from such a state of affairs at one time can reasonably come to agree I think with the principles... One person had an apt take on it all, that more people will have to get laid based on adopting the practice suggested than from the older traditions of getting laid more because of physical power or economic power. Thu, 18 Nov 2004 01:17:43 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#64d559b2-2f54-417a-91cb-789fe8611a97 Spidey 2004-11-18T01:17:43Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#75fe14b7-2054-4a2c-987d-dcd59064015f Of course the end of the oil era with create havoc, I think that’s a given. It will be especially interesting when it doesn’t all just dry up at once but there is a limited supply and people start fighting about it. Ps. I especially like your collection of quotes at the site. Wed, 17 Nov 2004 01:14:25 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#75fe14b7-2054-4a2c-987d-dcd59064015f Mark 2004-11-17T01:14:25Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#caf6ea84-bb46-4810-bc84-11351477f191 Can you imagine in the early part of the last century when someone started talking about a computer to the lay person? Can you imagine the challenge in conveying that thought, much less the idea that people would carry them around in their briefcase and use them to send letters to other people's briefcases without ever dropping something in a mailbox? Or how about in feudal periods. Can you imagine trying to convey the concept of capitalism? That instead of beating the (name your fav' tribe here) over the head with bludgeons, swords, and the like, that instead we would build a web of lending institutions and product manufacturers in a way that redivides the world to retain the same privilege that was at the time kept by those who had the greatest armies? This is a lot like that, and you can't imagine the variety of responses ... some very positive, some very negative, most in the middel. The message I am trying to convey in this post, is that popular understanding includes a large portion of simply knowing through experience, BUT that either by accident or planning, things like capitalism and the computer evolved. It probably would be a stretch of the imagine to characterize the development of the computer as accidental, but there were probably a million little serendipities (accidents? accidental discoveries?) along the way. It took people trying to figure it all out to accelerate the development, who actually pioneered the industry. I would be surprised if folks looking for a solution to the challenges we are in were not both excited and frustrated. I am both. Somehow, putting up the Wiki eases my frustration, because as kludgy as it is, I think there are a number of insights in the right direction there -- that I wish I hadn't had to work through as much by myself as I've had to. Wikis give people an opportunity to put up a straw man and then shoot it full of holes, improve it, ask questions. That is really exciting to me. The exciting part is that I think there has been identified more explicitly a general theme that can really empower activism. That makes it possible to begin looking to see who is doing something that looks like that model, and then engage in dialogue about it. The whole process has been 1/3 excitement and 2/3 frustration to me, but I hope and believe the corner will turn at some point to 2/3 excitement and 1/3 frustration. I can't help but work on the idea because it seems really important now and only becoming more important. The effort has at least made the vision become clearer in my own thinging (with a bit of a lag time in terms of getting things in the wiki ... there is a diagram that I'd like to draw soon and put in there that will show the thing a lot more clearly I think ... and a lot of other opportunities). I appreciate your moderating your comments of criticism, because in a way, that's what is all about -- respecting and including others. Profit maximization as a human policy -- without sufficient checks -- naturally leads to disrespecting others and the environment, not including them sufficiently in planning. When that type of human behavior expands to global extent, I get more worried about the impact of, for example, consumption and use of oil beyond reasonable limit given finite reserves, and a potentially very negative impact arising in society because of society's general difficulty in changing from easy to hard in terms of habit - if that makes any sense. Most people don't even want to think about a lot of the things that might happen. One interesting position is taken by James Kunstler (at Kunstler.com) who is in the film, "The End of Suburbia," talking about how running out of oil will wreak havoc. Scary yet plausible idea? What do YOU think? Wed, 17 Nov 2004 01:04:32 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#caf6ea84-bb46-4810-bc84-11351477f191 Spidey 2004-11-17T01:04:32Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#14ec0d9f-016a-4e28-af89-c3689a3cac4f It's interesting that you have clarity of information in your original post because I think thats a big one. I found your web site first and have to admit I was excited and confused at the same time. The material is great but a bit thick if you know what I mean. Your writting reminds me a bit of Buckminsterfuller(sp? sorry). It all needs to be said but it puts off a fair number of people. My writing is even worse so I shouldn't talk. Tue, 16 Nov 2004 07:21:56 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#14ec0d9f-016a-4e28-af89-c3689a3cac4f Mark 2004-11-16T07:21:56Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#14bc8e1c-4e34-47f6-b152-27bf1c7a5c82 I said there is a Wiki to discuss Aikido Activism. Please go have a look. It seems to me there will have to be many discussions of it, not only in many languages but from many bases of experience. A point made recently on Rushkoff's weblog was about the importance of mythology speaking to the masses. I prefer to think of myth as metaphor, and to the extent that Aikido Activism proposes a fairly new type of corporate behavior that few people, if any, have experienced, it is not likely to be so much a difficulty of language as that new metaphors are best experienced versus discussed -- what do you/others think? Thanks! Thu, 04 Nov 2004 20:43:38 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#14bc8e1c-4e34-47f6-b152-27bf1c7a5c82 Spidey 2004-11-04T20:43:38Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#35106785-37ea-4ab1-8ff9-267a6520c498 Plain English would be helpful. ireally have no idea what you just said, and i was an English Major. Thu, 04 Nov 2004 20:17:26 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#35106785-37ea-4ab1-8ff9-267a6520c498 Qatana 2004-11-04T20:17:26Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#4df973c8-d1d5-4d72-8ad2-f1a19144e5b4 The Wiki is at: http://aikidoactivism.xwiki.com/ Thu, 04 Nov 2004 20:10:59 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#4df973c8-d1d5-4d72-8ad2-f1a19144e5b4 Spidey 2004-11-04T20:10:59Z http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#587e38c6-b80a-4983-9071-b929d0dadbab There is a Wiki up to augment the discussion of Aikido Activism. This could be very helpful by providing a living reference database to see what a growing community of watchers, investors and entrepreneurs are observing as: - the pioneers of "business-as-part-activism", - the opportunities for further work, and - the range of world problems solvable through Aikido Activism. My question for anyone is how best to magnetize people to such a dialogue -- given the dialogues purportedly great promise? Word of mouth? The clarity of information presented? Perhaps both and more... Thanks everyone who continues to work strategically for progress. Thu, 04 Nov 2004 20:10:35 GMT http://aikidoactivism.tribe.net/thread/2312147b-e4ae-4acf-8166-23115c095a6e#587e38c6-b80a-4983-9071-b929d0dadbab Spidey 2004-11-04T20:10:35Z