My old and dear friends Craig and Patricia Neal of Heartland Circle have just announced the birth of their first book, with Cynthia Wold. It's called The Art of Convening: Authentic
Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations.
This book is going to be very important and of great benefit to everyone, especially those of us working with groups. The Art of Convening is available for pre-order at Amazon, and I invite you to join me in welcoming this wonderful new book – pre-order copies now for yourself and your friends and colleagues, and become a fan on their FaceBook page.
Hi Amy,
I am pretty new to the whole technology thing, especially Second Life. After I read your blog, and after a plethora of judgmental thoughts about it (that just flew in and flew out of my head) I really got to thinking how 2nd life can shift how one experiences something whether it is extraordinary like someone’s art or a simple action or a simple flower. The video shifts how concepts of how we put together something, how we view it and what is real or not. All this shifting is necessary in what we are all going through at this moment in history. We need new ways to look at, experience and put together. The world we really are creating for the future will literally be put together differently. Einstein says that you can’t solve a problem at the same consciousness as the one who created it. 2nd Life and the thoughts you have shared, the videos that you have shared all do that. We need that. We need people who are pressing in on something, to explore, to discover, to experience. When I was little I would lay on my back in our home and imagine the ceiling was the floor and picture all of family life happening on the ceiling (floor) of the house. That had me think and feel differently. Thank you for leading us in this exploration. Kim Oh by the way I couldn’t pull up the art because Firefox said i didn’t have a program to do it in and then I also didn’t sign in to Second Life. Maybe next time I will do more exploring.
Kim,
How fantastic that you were stimulated to “think differently” in such a wonderfully creative way. I’m so pleased to have some small part in that.
The links were to Second Life, and I know everyone won’t want to follow up on them, since they would required having a Second Life account (which is free, but the learning curve can put folks off at first).
Thanks again for sharing your ideas.
Amy
Amy,
I agree very much with what you say. In the beginning of my blogging I hesitated to be personal and reveal dreams I had, but I found that the sharing is an important factor in the fulfilment of the dreams. We don’t have to be ashamed or hide that we learn and change. Personally I would be challenged to follow a blog where you see change and learning. And transparency is the real thing, isn’t it?
/Anders
Right on, Amy! That’s why “authenticity” is from the same root as “author.” You can’t beat the “real stuff.” I struggled, initially, with how much to reveal about my ovarian cancer on my site–www.sophiaserve.com since it wasn’t intended to be a “spill your guts” (so to speak!) platform. But I’m more comfortable with using my own physical challenges as a jumping off point for something else. Thanks to your encouragement to do this in the first place! My initial thought was, “Will I just be talking to myself?” Maybe. But it’s a way to reach out to the universe and who reads it, as in Open Space, are the ones who are supposed to be reading it. And they can, as in Open Space, vote with their feet–or in this case, a click.
I like what Anders says. Transparency IS the real thing–something I hope President Obama is teaching us all and remembering himself.
Karen
Thank you for sharing this. It is exquisitely done restating an important truth for all of us to know and remember. I will share this with my friends.
Thanks
Kim
Beautiful. Thank you.
yo! this is great. can you link to the heartland network site with this post?
Thank you for posting this Amy. I have just sent it to my friends as my belated New Year’s message. Truly a beauty dialogue 🙂
Amy, Thanks for all of your wonderful support and “genius in our camp.” I love what you do. You are a goddess! Cindy
You’re welcome, Cindy. You guys deserve all the support and success that comes to you, and more!
you are such a huge love! we are filled with gratitude for all of you who have supported this wonderful adventure. in your case, its been a lifetime of love and nurturing.
Aww gee, Craig. Thank YOU! You must all be in an altered state right about now…