From the daily little Buddhist email I get from Beliefnet

There is something afoot at the moment all over the world. Emails and phone calls are coming in from all over North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. It’s hard to pin down but it has to do with a sea change in the way we work with each other, relate to each other and refuse to be pushed around anymore. It is a living in truth that is springing from a generosity of spirit and resources. I refuse to admit that I’m wrong about this. I’m prepared to sit on a leading edge for the rest of my life in the knowledge and belief that this moon will be reflected in every body of water on earth.

In April we have an amazing event happening here in Vancouver. The Dalai Lama, Vaclav Havel, Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi are all coming here to talk about educating the heart and the mind. I’m attending one of the Dalai Lama’s teachings, being held appropriately enough in a hockey arena. With that and the emerging work on the Giving for Civil Society Open Space conference it feels like something wide is opening up.

As they say in the antipodes, “it’s all good.”

Back home from New Zealand with a head full of memories. Lots will be unfolding there in the next little while, and I’ll keep you abreast of developments there.

In the meantime, I’d like to draw your attention to two things happening in North America in the next few months. First, John Engle, who is back in the States from Haiti, is convening a conference in Washington DC on April 30 and June 1 called The Do-Gooder’s Exchange. From the invitation:

And on a related note, Michael Herman, Jon Husband, Phil Cubeta and I are cooking something up which promises to be very interesting.

Nelson, New Zealand

Just completed a 1.5 day OST training workshop here in Nelson with 9 folks from this region and Tauranga, The Bay of Plenty, on the north island.

One of the outcomes from the gathering, and following on from the Te TauIhu economic summit, has been the establishment of a local network of indigenous practitioners here in Aotearoa. We have already set up a web page at OpenSpaceWorld.NET where projects can unfold.

Nelson, New Zealand

Blogging on a sunny fall afternoon from Te Tau Ihu, or the Top of the South Island region of New Zealand. The beautiful weather here – including a brisk warm wind off the Tasman Sea coming over the light blue waters of Nelson Bay – kind of nicely reflects my mood at the moment.

I was invited here to facilitate a day of Open Space for an Maori economic summit which brought together entrepreneurs, iwi trusts, government folks and Pakehea (or non-Maori) businesses for the tourism, and resource sectors. Our day in Open Space was yesterday and it was a blast. People connected like crazy, including one woman whose topic was “I need a job.” in her session, four people joined her and created a business plan to get her into a viable self-employment situation. That experience wasn’t at all unique with other business plans drafted up around Te Reo (language) funding opportunities, and the creation of a Maori economic development forum in this region to support enterprise.

Like the use of Open Space in other indigenous communities, people in the closing circle claimed it as Maori, and in order to leave it here and support that idea, we are just now finalizing the logistics for a two training workshop that starts tomorrow to train folks in community agencies and government in the process.

More reports if I get a chance or when I get home. In the meantime have a look at the work being done by Wakatu Incoirporation, one of the sponsors of the Summit which is a trust that acts on behalf of five iwi (tribes) in this region.

I’m heading off to New Zealand for 10 days, so blogging might be light. I’ve collected another ten intereting links for your perusal. So here is the latest edition of Parking Lot linkage:

Enjoy!