LynnAllen.net > Mara Mitchell - An Open Letter to the Pachamama Alliance |
| An Open Letter to the Pachamama Alliance 12 November 2007 Dear Jon and Tracy, We recently held our first Awakening
the Dreamer Symposium in Bellingham, Washington. It was a success in many ways,
especially in that it brought forth timely feedback about possible next steps
for the symposium initiative and perhaps the Alliance itself. What I am presenting
here is an amalgamation of my own ruminations with feedback from participants
and other members of our team, many of whom are taking the Facilitator Training
in Camp Brotherhood. I hope these thoughts will support the work of deepening
and expanding our role as an organization in the rapidly changing world. Currently, we view participants as a force to be managed/controlled/kept on track. The short amounts of time we allow for group process attests to this; the focus is on the presenter of information. As one of our participants mentioned, this is a fundamentally patriarchal model. I have my doubts that we need presenters as much as we need facilitators; a more appropriate job for the people at the front of the room may be to draw forth and guide discussions, rather than provide information. At our symposium in Bellingham, it was clear that the participants could have provided a much deeper and precise account of our situation than any one facilitator could "present." They also called into question the issue Tracy mentioned in her letter regarding our new place to stand. Why were we even measuring by material wealth anyway? The most productive time we spent together was in the hour long Open Space we included in the Where Do We Go from Here? section. The crowd drawn to the symposium is, at this point, further advanced than the symposium itself. To respect people's time, intelligence, and energy, we need to take their maturity into account. Considering the urgent nature of our discussion, better to not spend so much time repeating the obvious. As facilitators/presenters especially, we need to be concise, focusing on group wisdom and emerging solutions. It's not about people listening to us. If our goal is to reach beyond the choir with this information, the whole language of the symposium comes into question. To make this leap successfully, we need to reach an audience that may not be drawn to the "new thought" clothing the symposium wears. Overall, I see a need for the symposium to essentialize, to be refined to its core structure and elements, in order to be more readily adaptable for a variety of uses/audiences. One member of our planning team, who is taking facilitator training, is already hot on the trail of how this language transition might be accomplished. In the last week, I came across an article introducing a revolutionary movement in environmentalism. It came from the magazine What Is Enlightenment?, and showcased the work of the authors of Worldchanging, a handbook for creating an environmentally sustainable future through the use of biotechnology. It represents the cutting edge in its field, and I wonder if our discussion of environmental sustainability needs to move in this direction - toward creative solutions. I think some contact with the people involved in this movement could be beneficial for the Pachamama Alliance, in terms of new ideas/technologies that could make the symposium, especially the AV element, more dynamic and readily adaptable. To keep pace with the rapidly changing times, we need a way for symposium content to be constantly updated - by facilitators. There's no reasonable way for the Pachamama Alliance as a centralized organization to keep changing the material and sending updated drafts. As facilitators, we need to make it locally relevant, and to have a forum where up-to-date national/world information is posted and available to download and feed into the manual/AV. The structure of the symposium is brilliant; the content is stagnant. There is also need within the "bright green" movement, as it's being called, for the strengths of the Pachamama Alliance. They are well-developed in methods of sustainability, lacking in concepts of social justice and spirituality. There appears to be an especially acute dismissal of spirituality within cyber world. For all of us to succeed as radically as we must, I think some effort to build a bridge, or as Van Jones says, "grow toward" this techno-green movement might be to our mutual benefit. For our part, we could redefine the symposium in more active terms: that we are a coalition of people working to rebuild our Earth community, applying the principles of environmental sustainability, social justice, and spiritual fulfillment. Entering further the realm of spirituality: one participant expressed a need for more time to process emotional energy through her body. A member of our planning team is especially emphatic about the need to experience grief over our earthly losses. A yet unexplored aspect of the symposium is how to bring in exercises, Qi Gong or Yoga or whatever else, to help people move grief energy into action. This may be more useful than the closed-eye meditations we currently employ. Knowing of the Alliance's connection with the Achuar and something of the spiritual traditions of the Andes, I wonder if there might be a set of teachings/practices from these roots that would be appropriate for people engaging in this work in the West. I see the potential for this organization to represent to the world a grounded, dynamic spirituality capable of dealing with the chaotic energies of our time. In response to the surge of technological solutions, I have to wonder if there is an equally potent and beneficial spiritual energy wanting to be brought into play more fully. (Maybe this element is also coming forward in the For the Love of Life workshop?) For now, in Bellingham we're planning ongoing group forums to keep people moving through the stages of grief and working toward solutions. Another ongoing theme that we're exploring as a result of both the March Facilitator Training and our recent symposium is a place for indigenous voices. I heard a comment and have thought myself that the emphasis on rainforest communities is misplaced. The compact between the Alliance and the Achuar people has met unprecedented success in the arena of land protection. Yet in order to create a sustainable future, we need to be primarily concerned and connected with the health of our home ecoregion. How can we create similar alliances with the native nations on the fringes of our own communities? It seems that in the Pachamama Alliance we have a model to create allegiances with local tribes, and again have an opportunity to heal historical pain. I also see the need for local indigenous stories to enhance the content of the symposium. The Cherokee Elder story in the closing section falls short of fulfillment. As one of our group members pointed out, it's a fake story. It makes a point, but compromises the integrity of its source. It comes across as a cute, stereotypical "Indian story," hardly the image this organization wants to perpetuate. In the coming years, I could imagine regional branch offices engaged with native locals in the areas of symposium development and land stewardship. These daughter orgs could serve as smaller hubs of networking and creativity, interconnected with the main office and other small branches throughout the nation. As the Pachamama Alliance and its initiatives continue to grow, I think there could be a need for less centralized operations and a greater scope of function. I know that everyone in the San Francisco Office has been working hard to streamline operations, and that you're all responsible for holding more than you think is possible as it is! [Speaking of streamlining: I promised someone I'd mention the background references binder. It may be in a useful format for online surfing, but requires some work to adjust to printer friendly format. Could it be posted on website in pdf form?] As the symposium initiative experiences astronomic growth, there needs to be a corresponding deepening in all aspects. The structure, content, and delivery should all embody the principles of the world the symposium is laboring to birth. In our growing world there is less and less room for inconsistency -- this is the basis for our spiritual practice as facilitators and creators of the initiative - to bring our whole lives into line with the values we espouse. I've experienced much growth and development through being involved with the Alliance and participating in facilitating an event. I want to express my deep gratitude for this opportunity, for the scope of the vision you all hold, and for Earth, who will settle for no less than complete transformation. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. In community and gratitude, Mara Mitchell |