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real and not real | transform. | june 2011

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Read this version online: http://transformativechange.org/transform/journal/201106.html Download printable PDF version: http://transformativechange.org/transform/print/201106.pdf This month's transform.: http://transformativechange.org/transform/?announce-transformonline/

welcome We often think of storytelling as the thing a teacher, parent, or older sibling did when we were little. They'd sit beside us and read (or tell) a story. But stories are more than that; stories are primary to our lives. They are the way we communicate nearly everything, from the spoken to the unspoken. Everything is story: ads, photos, songs, gossip, history, news, etc. They are also primal. The Chauvet cave paintings reveal not art, but the stories of what mattered to those who lived there 32,000 years ago. All of our fathers, have a story of who we were as children. There are stories old and new about Stonewall, about Juneteenth, about all celebrations of achievement held in June. As folks who advance transformative social change, we can use story as a tool to create connection, listen to others, and reveal truth--we can tell about who we are in a way that is genuine and compelling, especially to those who resist the messages we bring. In this issue we offer resources and ideas about how social change agents can bring storytelling into the work they do, both for themselves and for the world they seek to make.

what's new All in the Family There are a lot of folks out there living outside of the nuclear family framework. Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) is gathering stories [image: Mary R. Vogt]

(digital and otherwise) to

accurately show what American families are like today. We are all over the map: from mom, dad, kids... Read more... ACRJ's Strong Families Video Stories of Strong Families Add Your Family Story

in SIGHT The Power of Vulnerability

"One Human Family" Aids Memorial, Key West, FL. Tile design by Chรถd Stine, Tiles Etcetera.

No video? Click: The Power of Vulnerability

Brene Brown, accomplished researcher, author, social worker, and storyteller, spent six years collecting thousands of people's stories on vulnerability, the need to belong, and our profound interconnectedness. In this TED talk, she shares her thoughts on her work and

real and not real: on borders and divisions http://transformativechange.org/transform/journal/201106.html

reflects on the importance of knowing oneself in order to understand humanity. Subscribe to CXC on YouTube

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real and not real | transform. | june 2011

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INcite with angel Kyodo williams (reprinted article: may 2010) We're reprinting this article from may 2010 because Rev. angel has been on writing sabbatical for the past two months as we're in the last phases of our merger. She will soon return. Please look for new features from her later this summer. -- editor, transform. i have to make a confession... i've been holding up the publication of this month's journal version of transform. for almost two weeks now. and it's because i've had a block. not an ordinary writers' block—which, while annoying, unproductive and sometimes even painful, is generally unwanted—as that would be preferable to the block i've been having. i've been having a heart-mind block. i have found the thinking, choices, behavior and resulting consequences of our people so incomprehensible at a heart level, that my mind has refused to put words to a phenomena that

in TIME WEST COAST fearlessMeditation I | Practice of the Body People's Grocery Gear Sale 6th Annual Inner Justice Intensive SOUTHEAST Soul Sanctuary EAST COAST Chewing on Food Justice | What on Earth is Food Justice? MIDWEST AMC2011 | Media Strategies for a More Just & Creative World SOUTHWEST Center for Digital Storytelling | Standard Workshop EVERYWHERE Courage Campaign Video Contest

in the CENTER Conscious Embodiment | Leadership Embodiment

seems beyond them. when i say our people, i mean OUR people. all of them. the one's that every single human that ever lays eyes on this—from now until the end of time—have a relationship to: -

the the the the the the the the the the the the

people people people people people people people people people people people people

in the Tea Party never invited to the Party in Arizona (made up of lines) of Arizona (made up of lineage) (and wildlife) within the Gulf Coast (and profiteers) far away from the Gulf Coast in the White House thrown out of their house of God that own God in Israel (that won't let up) in Gaza (that can't get out)

with each upside-down turn of events, my heart has broken further and has threatened to take my mind with it because my mind wants to make sense of something that my heart knows full well it cannot. and should not.

http://transformativechange.org/transform/journal/201106.html

Conscious Embodiment/Leadership Embodiment (CE/LE) is coming to the Center for Transformative [image: Zochi Alonzo

Change (CXC). Following a series

Young]

of full-staff trainings with CE/LE

founder, Wendy Palmer, four staff members... Read more... Leadership Embodiment Conscious Embodiment

in the MONEY Telling Colorful Tales for Money Grant writing is an art. Indeed, a lot of nonprofits hire folks just to write grants. In the past, grants have not been considered the [image: John Nyberg]

place to tell a story. Well, that's

changing and has been for sometime. Read more... Guide for Creating Storytelling Grants The Importance of Storytelling for Nonprofits More Links...

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real and not real | transform. | june 2011

what i can do instead is try to sort out what is real and what is not. that's an illusion of sorts too, i know, but this is what i came up with:

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from the FIELD Marshall Ganz | Why Stories Matter

Nine Things Real and Not Real

Marshall Ganz, "a lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of

1. we, the People, are divided by fear, lack of vision and imagination is real.

Government who's worked with both Cesar Chavez and was a [image: Darren Hester]

2. the so-called border that divides this land from the people we took it from by force is not real 3. the horrific show of how deep this country's racism runs, masking itself as it's very own Party of hatred, is real. 4. the idea that a President of any race, color, gender or creed can rise above and act beyond a corrupted system that put them there to begin with is not real.

major organizer on the Obama

campaign," illustrates the parallel to story we encounter in our own lives through telling about his life, and the lessons he's learned as an activist and organizer. From him we learn stories are the long roads of our lives. Read more...

inner PRACTICE Listen from the Heart When we begin council we give

5. the toxic waste hemorrhaging onto the land from 5000 feet under the seaâ€”laying waste to the life in its pathâ€”is real.

these guidelines: what is said in council stays in council, be brief, be spontaneous, speak from the

6. the will to stop feeding off of "ancient hours of sunlight" and converting fossils into a fuel that drives death and destruction worldwide is not real.

heart, and listen from the heart. [image: Mary R. Vogt]

Council, the practice of sitting together with a group of people and listening/telling our personal stories as they

7. the cordoning off of nearly 1.5 million people like so much cattle that amounts to a New Millenium Apartheid is real.

arise, can bring transformation to our lives.

8. the resolve of America and the world to stop financing state-sanctioned war crimes and now international law breaches is not real.

outer ACTION

Mosaic | Made Whole Through Story

9. the deep divisions of our society, people and planet, based on the peculiar illusory constructs of race, class, privilege, supremacy and superiority is real. and for this, we will all pay.

Mosaic Multicultural Foundation was founded by Michael Meade 20 years ago. It got its name from a ceremonial drum, which was [image: Mosaic Logo]

genocide is real. greed is real. destruction is real. "illegals" aren't real. Mexicans aren't real. Americans aren't real. Muslims aren't real. Jews aren't real. fairness is real. justice is real. love is real. http://transformativechange.org/transform/journal/201106.html

broken during a men's retreat in

Virginia and made whole through the metaphor of... Read more... Mosaic Multicultural Foundation Documentary on Voices of Youth

social CHANGE Read a Digital Story The Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS) is dedicated to using story as a way to make an extraordinary difference in the lives of ordinary [image: Jacob Power]

people. They use digital media to help individuals and organizations Page 3 of 7

real and not real | transform. | june 2011

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help individuals and organizations get their stories out into the world by partnering with...

People are real.

Read more... More About Center for Digital Storytelling

â€”yours in truth, aKw

dedicated to all the people that show up for real. angel Kyodo williams is Founder Emeritus of Center for Transformative Change. She now serves as Director of Vision. A social visionary and leading voice for transformative social change, she is the author of Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace .

Center for Digital Storytelling Workshops Center for Digital Storytelling Stories

in the MIND Think Deeply, Be Happy?

Contributed by BK Abram Of the many goings on in our minds we often find the persistent

Blog: new Dharma: live, love & lead from the heart Blog: mtx: mind training & xformation Facebook: Like angel here Twitter: Follow angel for tweets of wisdom on Change Web: http://angelkyodowilliams.com angel Kyodo williams' next public talk: TBD

yearning for fulfillment, or as [image: Bill Davenport]

some say, the search for meaning.

We might also find that searching for happiness, or meaning, and talking deeply with others will... Read more... fearless Meditation is a 3-part signature series that teaches practical meditation within a social justice framework. It's offered for no charge for agents of

newDharma Talk The Third Noble Truth Part II Part Two of this dharma talk focuses on the devastation of realizing who we have been and the steady work it takes to Awaken.

I want to tell you in my experience, I don't know anyone, and I don't know of anyone, and I haven't heard of anyone that has even peered at the cessation of anguish, even glimpsed it, glanced at it, caught a whiff of it without having experienced the emotion or state that is called samvega....

social change.

"the best workshop i've ever taken. radically changed my work." fearless Meditation I: July 1, 2011 & every 1st Friday | 7pm

in the BODY Twelve Months of Abhaya (fearless) Yoga | Paschimottanasana Our bodies contain a lot of wisdom. Martha Graham, a

Samvega is the burning quality of coming into utter awareness in a shocking way about the experience of life and just how messy it is--and on top of that, how asleep you have been.

brilliant pioneer of modern dance, [image: chandra]

said, "The body never lies." Our

bodies are full of truth! If we practice tuning in, we can learn a lot and perhaps even honor what our bodies are

Listen to The Third Noble Truth Part II Download text for The Third Noble Truth Part II

telling us. Read more... fearlessYoga at CXC Sundays | 9:30 - 11:00am Every Body welcome.

activists, allies & agents of change Michael Meade | The Value of Young People

Michael Meade, D.H.L., has studied myth, anthropology, history of religion, and crosscultural rituals for over 35 years. His hypnotic and fiery storytelling, street savvy http://transformativechange.org/transform/journal/201106.html

Free for agents of social change. Donations welcome.

wellness & being well Releasing Big Wounds Ever want to change your story? Craniosacral Therapy, a physical practice with a light touch both Page 4 of 7

real and not real | transform. | june 2011

[image courtesy Mosaic Multicultural Foundation]

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practice with a light touch both

perceptiveness, and spellbinding interpretations of ancient myths and symbols are highly relevant to current culture.

Michael Meade is a renowned storyteller, mythologist, and the founder of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a 20-year-old organization that uses story as a way to help folks who are at risk. Mosaic's work is ultimately about transforming our own stories so that we can create... Read more... Books by Michael Meade More Interviews with Michael Meade The Half-Boy Story as Told by Michael Meade

realigns our bodies and, because of the memories our bodies hold, [image: Sofi Gamache]

our minds. People report letting

go of old perspectives, old stories, and old ways of living their lives. Read more... More About Craniosacral Therapy | Upledger Institute

june wallpaper

resources for changeâ€Ś The Goodman Center helps "nonprofits recruit, propose, persuade, and present more effectively." They have a storytelling workshop that can help you tell the story of your organization. The Goodman Center In this document from Whole Communities, longtime political organizer Marshall Ganz shares how to offer your public story, and explains why it's important to tell it. Marshall Ganz: Advice on Telling Our Public Stories

seeing anew Looking down from within one of 36 exterior domes of the Yeni Camii or New Mosque, which, incidentally, was completed in 1665, this piercing eye sees as we all are:

A second resource on the topic of telling a good story is an article from Northern California Grantmakers. Included are guidelines for telling a story as well as an excellent story sample. Guide for Creating Grants that Tell Stories An article by JD Lasica begins with a video and provides many resources for effective communication strategies relevant to social change organizations. How Nonprofits Should be Using Storytelling Council practice has recently become a popular choice for therapists, communities, families, and business organizations. In The Way of Council, author Jack Zimmerman provides a basic introduction and extensive coverage on leading council in a variety of situations. The Way of Council Learn more about Professor Mary Evelyn Tucker (she'll be at the Bioneers 2011 conference). She "weaves our personal and diverse cultural and cosmological narratives together for the sake of

Download this image as wallpaper with or without calendar for your desktop. Download without calendar...

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creating a just and sustainable future for all life." The Power of Story

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how are you changing the WAY change is done?

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real and not real | transform. | june 2011

who don't spend a lot of time with words and good reminders for those who do. 3 Quick Tips on Writing Well

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quote of the month "Stories are the secret reservoir of values: change the stories individuals and nations live by and tell themselves, and you change the individuals and nations."

Berkeley, CA 94704 · USA +1.510.549.3733 Google the Center

Ben Okri, Nigerian Poet & Novelist

support deep change transform. is published by the Center for Transformative Change (CXC) CXC is the first national center entirely dedicated to bridging the inner and outer lives of social change agents, activists and allies to support a more effective, more sustainable social justice movement. We name, frame and advance Transformative Social Change by both developing practices and programs for agents of social change and working in collaboration with leading organizations to help shape this emerging movement. Most importantly, CXC reflects the field and the movement back to itself by publishing the transform. blog and monthly journal, thus strengthening our collective identity, community, and shared vision. This long-term vision for shifting the paradigm of work for justice, changing the WAY change is done, will fundamentally alter broad-based social change at its very core—from inner to outer— resulting in a more just, equitable society for all. Great vision takes great action and our work is not possible without the generous support and partnership of individuals like you. The publication of transform. is made possible by your direct contribution. No amount is too small…so make your contribution to deep change today. Donate to CXC Visit the Center's website What is Transformative Change? Find out HERE

Center for Transformative Change is a project of urbanPEACE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization whose mission to inform, incite and empower a broad-based, presence-centered, transformative social change movement.

http://transformativechange.org/transform/journal/201106.html

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real and not real | transform. | june 2011

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