Navajo people call human beings “five-fingered” people. This refers to the way that Navajos relate their clan connections using the fingers of their hands. The thumb is “shay”, myself. And each one is imprinted with a unique spiral pattern. This spiral pattern is said to emerge when a child has spirit blown into it be the ye’i – the ancestors, who also produce the spiral of hair on the top of each person’s head. The spiral gives life. From there, each person can recite their clan heritage through the remaining four fingers, their father and mother, their father’s mother and …
Last wekk I was working with some good friends – Kyra Mason, Thomas Ufer, Ruth Lyall, Jennifer Charlesworth and Nanette Taylor. Together we designed and delivered a one day workshop on what we called “Chaordic Leadership in Changing Times.” The focus of the workshop was collaborative leadership practice and we were asking questions about collaborating around a movement in the child and family services sector in British Columbia. Collaborative leadership practice has a couple of key capacities. First is the ability to be in and hold space for conversations that matter. The second is the practice of developing and holding …
Crystal glass water music Indivisible oneness: a gorgeous essay by Evelyn Rodriguez Rheingold on the coming age of cooperation Go fill your ears with music: The mammoth list of mp3 blogs The Grand Plan to get the US onto to solar energy. Some fine organizational tools for non-profits and philanthropic endeavours An amazing conversation on the collective Buddha
The two most important women in my life Jack Ricchiuto: In my work with a new hospital north of Denver yesterday, one of the senior managers commented that one of the things that struck him most was the idea that people do not feel an authentic sense of accountability simply because we place on them demands that take away their freedom of choice. We feel this when people have faith in us. Would you rather be accountable to a friend or a contract? Is it friendship or paper that binds two people’s integrity together? My modus operandi in the world …
Photo by Nathan Ward Little elements that showed up lately: A beautiful periodic table of the elements by printmakers A reason why I love the web: Indian cooking on YouTube Johnnie brings it on with a great find on power. Bonus is that he also introduces me to Greater Good magazine. Dustin Rivers on unschooling as decolonizing liberation. Dude rocks my world. Jack Martin Leith, a fellow Open Space traveller, has been providing interesting resources on collective genius and innovation for years. This is his recent offering, an engaging power point presentation on world views and pathways to collective innovation. …