Dear Subscribers,

I am working on an interactive e-book on the birth of a new paradigm world that will be based on my blog as well as input from friends in my network. My goal is to complete the book by my birthday on June 9. During the past few days, it has become apparent that the time required to review over 1200 posts and formatting the book is a monumental task that will require the majority of my time. Therefore, I have reluctantly decided to take a hiatus until the book is completed and will resume publication with the announcement of the release of the book. I have enjoyed the process of scanning for new paradigms and sharing them with you and hope you have enjoyed the journey as well and found the posts inspiring and useful. There is a possibility that someone may act as guest editor in my absence. If I receive that offer, I will let you know. In the meantime, here are this weeks posts. See you on the other side of my book.

Wishing you a breakthrough year!

Jeff

1. Economics Of Happiness Conference 15-17 March, 2013 Presented by the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC). Building on the success of their first international Economics of Happiness Conference, held last March in Berkeley, California, ISEC is hosting a second conference in Byron Bay, Australia. We attended the first conference and reported on its wonderful speakers in NPD.  This year’s conference promises to be even more informative and if you haven’t visited Byron Bay, it’s a very special community on the ocean and home to some of Australia’s best surfing.

PROGRAM Through an interactive program of plenary sessions, workshops, and social and creative time, participants will have a rare opportunity to learn from and share with some of the foremost leaders in the worldwide localisation movement. The conference also offers the chance to make new connections, build on current projects and find new inspiration.

SPEAKERS This event brings together a unique international group of speakers, each one acclaimed for their vision, activism, wisdom, and leadership.  These include: Winona LaDuke (USA), renowned American Indian activist and former Green Party US vice-presidential candidate. Vandana Shiva (India), activist, physicist, feminist and the author of Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability and Peace and Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development (via video link).  Dave Rastovich (Australia), founder of Surfers for Cetaceans, and alternative role model for millions of young people. Bill McKibben (USA), founder of 350.org and author of numerous books, including The End of Nature and Deep Economy (via video link) Click here for more.

2. Duane Elgin’s Great Transition Stories

One of the most inspiring and illuminating meetings of my life was with visionary educator, consultant, and media activist Duane Elgin, the author of  one of my all time favorite books, Voluntary Simplicity. His latest must read offering to the world are Great Transition Stories that offer a brilliant synthesis and clarity around the key elements of the transition to a new paradigm world. Duane suggests that “humanity has entered a time of profound change and that we are pushed by necessity and pulled by opportunity.  The push is a growing systems crisis, evident in the breakdown of financial institutions, climate disruption, resource depletion, unsustainable populations, and more. These powerful Trends are presented here. The pull is the opportunity to rise to a new level of human maturity, partnership, and freedom.  The combined push and pull at a global scale make this truly a time of profound turning and transformation for humanity. Many of the other names used to describe this time of Great Transition are explored here.”

3. What You Can Do About the Flu and Multiple Viruses

“Influenza has officially reached epidemic levels in the United States, with 7.3 percent of deaths last week caused by pneumonia and the flu, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.” ~ Reuters My go to online doc is Dr. Schultz whose great products have been supporting my health for years. Here’s his advice: Don’t let your guard down and DON’T GET SICK! Start with the basics: Wash your hands more and avoid breathing the air of coughing, sneezing and sick people. AND… BOOST your immune system with Dr. Schulze’s Cold & Flu Herbal “SHOT” to fight off ANY cold or flu outbreak! For more timely information, watch Dr. Schulze’s Flu Update Blog Video

4. A Fierce Green Fire

is an excellent documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and provides a sweeping history of the environmental movement with narrations by Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, Isabel Allende and Meryl Streep. It covers David Brower and the Sierra Club’s battle to halt dams in the Grand Canyon, Love Canal, Greenpeace, Chico Mendes and Climate Change.  If you or your children want to learn how the environment became a central issue and the passion behind it, this is the film for you.  It’s available from BullfrogFilms.com whose library is a top source of educational films.

5.  Occupy Love 

“A visually breathtaking testament to a revolution as yet unfinished, and a plea not to succumb to hate, and instead place love at the centre of our struggles for a better world. Politically incendiary, audaciously inspiring. Occupy Love is a masterpiece.” rabble.ca

http://occupylove.org

 6. Introducing Michael Garfield

Paleontologist turned “performance philosopher,” Michael Garfield’s ecodelic explorations map the evolutionary landscape and our place in it. An internet video evangelist for nonlinear thinking and speaker at innumerable events, Michael walks the tightrope between education and inspiration with grace and jazzy nuance – reminding us that everything is equally art, science, and spiritual practice.

One of my great joys in scanning for new paradigm people and projects is discovering a highly creative and articulate artist of life. Michael Garfield definitely qualifies. I discovered one of his art works, Every Day is a New Year, pictured here, and requested permission to include it in my upcoming book. He wrote back with links to that work and others as well as a selection of his writing, music and talks. Discover for yourself some of this dynamic renaissance man’s creations. Michael will be taking over as editor of the excellent http://solpurpose.com this spring when it relaunches.

For me, Michael beautifully articulates where we are in our chaotic, evolutionary, post-rational transition phase.

Art
http://michaelgarfield.bandcamp.com/merch/every-day-is-a-new-year

Michael’s illustrating, as Huxley would say, the ‘antipodes’ of the Divine Imagination.
- Alex Grey, Chapel of Sacred Mirrors

Writing

http://bigthink.com/hybrid-reality/the-sacred-geography-of-21st-century-renaissance-civilization
http://bit.ly/wearesomethingtheplanetisdoing
http://bit.ly/psychedelictranshumanists

Talks
http://bit.ly/evolutionarytransitions
http://bit.ly/visionarystate

1. clausal lines – a new paradigm way of writing

most of us write in the “correct” way we learned in school which has been reinforced over the course of our lives  in books, magazines, newspapers and on billboards and television. these educational and cultural biases limit our ability to truly live outside the box and contribute to a new paradigm. in the following essay, cultural trance breaker peter oldfield shares a refreshingly out-of-the-box way of thinking about communicating.

it was a few years ago that i remember beginning to write
in a style that a friend had already adopted
after making his own careful analysis of the words and writings
of buckminster fuller and marshall mcluhan—
and it gave a fresh line to each turn of thought
or to each different and contiguous clausal phrase—
much as one does when writing poetry

i have since realized that the reader
can more easily draw out the writer’s meaning—
as if the time taken to move down to the next line
allowed a few more nanoseconds of heart-mind attention
and thus a micro-pause to better take in the whole clausal-line just ended—
and of course in cyber-reality we have the space to do that

looking back on the origins of conventional writing form—
edge-to-edge on Roman stone inscriptions
or on Latinate slate as on parchment through later centuries—
there were commonly no spaces between words
nor indeed even dots between sentences

today we might see that as an arbitrary way of writing
and inasmuch as the Romans did many similar things—
arbitrary things that served societal cohesion
while delivering top-down dominance—
we might also recognise it as an enforced subliminal dissonance
that the authoritarian written word was thus apt to create—
the dissonance appearing in the gap between the written-out ‘corporate prerogatives’
and the more ‘folksy stuff’ that we think of as everyday life—
such gaps have been seen to take many forms
and continue to intrude and confound us in the modern world

common to western civilisation since cuneiform Sumerian times
and entrained from one generation to the next
wherever we’ve seen the overarching ‘empire story’
such dissonant imperatives have imposed themselves on each culture
through the proclamatory written word

so when the leading and educated classes
adopted the forms of writing that clearly served them best
those on lower echelons eventually took up the very same
and these newly-educated folk barely thought more of it
having in any case little opportunity to influence cultural style on that level
for they were usually bound by certain economic or political constraints—
as through blood lines or under patronage—
and thus found themselves unwittingly beholden
to those longer threads of power that held the empire together
and kept most of the populace in various levels of compliance

such forms of legerdemain went on unquestioned for several thousand years—
so i’m suggesting here that our edge-to-edge ‘Roman rectangle’
has outworn its welcome in a more enlightened society
and is nothing more than a magisterial leftover from a time
when overbearing political prerogatives prevailed on the rest of the culture—
and now our time has come to break those subliminal fetters
and usher in a more conscious life for the coming generation

to offer a curiously salient perspective here
children feel right away that Egyptian hieroglyphs
are a more ‘friendly’ rendition of writing
and much, much more fun!

so I hope my readers will agree
that clausal lines not only give each turn-of-thought its own place—
they actually bring ease and flow to the reading

you will notice that without the visual distraction of excessive punctuation
a clausal line helps in holding the reader’s attention
especially in the longer convoluted and possibly more interesting sentences
all the way to their conclusion

in fact this ‘loosening of the rectangle’ if you will
is a friendly consideration from the writer
and becomes a gift to the reader

it is also an exercise in directness and lucidity
bringing it closer to our spoken style—
and it can very soon enhance the readability of one’s written missives
whatever the writer’s choice of phraseology might be
offering others a more poetic rendering of our thoughts
surely creates commonly sought humanist rapport—
in contrast to what has become a thoughtless adaptation
of a former paradigm that we now see falls short
in fully serving the heart of our affairs

some use of commas and em dashes can be an aid to clarity of course
though capitals are rarely needed when each line provides a contextual meaning
and most sentences can spread into whole paragraphs—
so practice and a little discipline, along with thoughtful review
may in short time return pleasing results

i have noticed only one needed pointer in syntax—
having started a sentence and whenever possible
begin each successive clausal line with a fitting transitional verb or conjunction

that’s it – so try it yourself!

and here is peter’s latest piece of writing that celebrates the year of the snake…

root out your freedoms from every nook and cranny
why leave even a trace of former constraints
let’s soar beyond the frozen bulwarks of centuries
for even the aftertaste of shadowy trails
need not be tethered to this new vision
bearing our peace and our beauty

peter oldfield is a world-traveler
an architectural colorist
and the visionary designer of worldmemorytheatre.org,
a multicultural edutaining environment.
peter currently lives in Crete.

2. Crossroads: labor pains of a new worldview
is a documentary exploring the depths of the current human condition and the emergence of a worldview that is recreating our world from the inside out.  weaving together insights and findings from biology, psychology, network science, systems science, business, culture and media, the film reveals the inner workings of the human experience in the 21st century, urging viewers to step out of the box and challenge their own assumptions about who we really are, and why we do what we do.

1. Crowdsourcing Our Economic Recovery by Van Jones We are not living up to the promise of the American Dream. Even now, our leaders are talking about cutting, instead of creating jobs to grow our way out of the deficit. Congress is ignoring big problems, congratulating itself on avoiding a fiscal cliffof its own creation. The federal budget props up broken parts of our economic system — big banks, big polluters and big defense contractors — instead of investing in areas such as education and infrastructure that would benefit everyone. Now, a new breed of companies is leveraging the power of networks and sharing — and showing us what a more sustainable, prosperous future can look like. One of the most well-known examples is Zipcar. Its tagline, “wheels when you want them,” pretty much sums up the company. Zipcar was just bought by rental giant Avis Budget Group for nearly $500 million as part of Avis’ push to compete with Hertz’s and Enterprise’s new car-sharing services. The demographics of car-sharing customers holds promise for future growth as younger, tech-savvy consumers tend to prefer sharing services. Then there is Mosaic, a new addition to the share economy. Mosaic just launched the first online clean energy investment marketplace. (Full disclosure: I am an uncompensated adviser to the company.) Here’s how it works: Mosaic connects investors to solar projects in need of financing. The projects generate revenue by selling the electricity they generate, which allows the investors to get paid back with interest. Through the company, you can pick a solar project that you like, make an investment for as little as $25 and get returns starting at 4.5% annually. Of course, as with nearly any investment that isn’t federally insured, there’s a risk involved. Instead of earning close to nothing on your money at a bank, you can directly invest in things that offer solid returns and create real or lasting value. Together, consumers can start rebuilding the economy from the community up. Together, we can crowdsource investments in American infrastructure and create 21st-century energy jobs all by ourselves. To complete the article, http://www.hopedance.org/home/money-news/2583-van-jones

2. The Wisdom of Babies “For years I worked with families who were very abusive to their children. Over time, I came to realize that all of the suffering that the children collected — whether it was domestic violence or child abuse or neglect — was a result of the absence of empathy in the parent. I saw that if you haven’t experienced love, it’s very difficult to know how to love. So what can we do to break this cycle of abuse and neglect?” Mary Gordon speaks about the makings of Roots of Empathy, a program that brings babies into classrooms to help teach emotional literacy — and how it has positively transformed students and communities { read more }

3. The City of San Fransisco now has nothing going to landfills. All trash collection is recycled or composted at a site near Vacaville. People are coming from all over the world to observe and learn how they are doing this.  They are making custom compost for ranchers and farmers needing certain kinds of soil with specific nutrients in it, for example for growing delicious, healthy, pest resistant grapes in vineyards, strawberries, almonds, many of which are also organically grown and therefore non GMO. This compost is sold bringing in revenue for the City of San Francisco. Elected officials are much more likely to be supportive of environmental endeavors if they bring in funds. They have a green jobs training program for youth paying $16/hr.

4. Free Internet Phone Service and a great deal on Web Hosting. During my stay in Queensland, Australia, I met David Gawler, a seasoned internet consultant who recently established an international internet phone service, web hosting and site design service. I have been using his phone service for the past three months without any problems whatsoever so happy to recommend his service. David has made the following exclusive offer to the first 30 NPD subscribers who sign up for either service: 12 months free VoIP Internet Phone Service, unrestricted, unlimited and untimed VoIP. http://global.talktelinternet.com/telecom/

And for web hosting,  the first 30 NPD subscribers will receive free .com domains with half price web hosting if you purchase more than 6 months Premium Web Hosting Access with Southbank Domains. Southbank Domains offers great support for all website hosting technologies including: MySQL, Postgre SQL, SSH, SSL, MS SQL, PHP, ASP/.Net, Ruby, Python, Pylons, Zope, Django, OS Commerce, HTML, CSS, Java, CGI-BIN, Scripting Perl, SSL, C, C #, C++ Sign up at http://southbankdomains.com/hosting/cart.php?gid=3.  NPDOO1 is your discount code for web hosting.

5. A New Zealand Paradise Could Be Your New Home If you are ready to get away from it all and live in a permaculture community of a few families who live their eco-spiritual values on 31 hectares, your dream could come true in New Zealand. Check out more details on Ahika here. His essay on paradigms is definitely worth a read.

6. New Paradigm Poetry Los Angeles Invite

Happy Chinese New Year!

Come Celebrate

The Year of the Snake

 And Unwind Your Mind

From the Tangled Yarn of Humankind

As Distinguished English Linguist Laurel Airica

Performs Depth-Defying Feats with Ordinary Words

That Will Transform the Way You View the Whirled Forever

Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013 @ 4:30 p.m. Malibu, CA

Donation: $20   RSVP: 310.309.1762 or 310.457.5398

www.laurelairica.com           www.leighmccloskey.com

Once you experience eSoterica by Laurel Airica, you’ll better understand how the Alchemy of the Alphabet and the Secret Spells of the English Language have kept us en-tranced to the illusions of separation and limitation. Laurel will also unveil the ABC’s of L-M-N-tal ConsciousGnosis to prove that, in fact, We DO Come With Instructions for living fulfilling lives: they’re in the very words we speak and in the letters that compose them. Ultimately, Laurel shows – in verse and prose – how young and old around the globe can take command of the English Language and collectively evolve it into a new language of the Heart that inspires and empowers the better angels of our nature. That same afternoon, when you view artist/alchemist Leigh McCloskey’s supernatural Wonder Study, you’ll see that the Serpent also plays a prominent role in Leigh’s multi-dimensional Hieroglyph of the Human Soul. Through Leigh’s guided tour of the Hieroglyph, you’ll return to a primal recognition of your Original & Everlasting Innocence. Finally, coloratura soprano Elizabeth Agnese will round out the program with an aria from Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss – in honor of certain massive serpents’ savory, winged delights. Please join us for a rich and extraordinary day of edutainment!

7.  Discounted Tickets to GATE 3.0

In 1979 the seeds of GATE were sown when a small committed group of actors, musicians, writers, business professionals and others joined together to teach meditation to members of the entertainment and media communities. Reception was abundantly positive, but it was just a niche group then. GATE-founders John Raatz, Jim Carrey and Eckhart Tolle noticed the growing interest in positive and life-enhancing storytelling. They decided to expand their reach, and the organization was formally inaugurated in Los Angeles in 2009. GATE’s mission is to help providing resources and guidance supporting media representative’s personal, inner education thereby assisting them in deepening their fundamental connection with themselves.

GATE is organizing a conference on Saturday the 2^nd of February about the role of the story in promoting personal, social and global transformation. Click here to find out more. Readers of The Intelligent Optimist will get 30 percent discount for a ticket, by using the promotional code TIO.

8. Smart Meters Are A Dumb and Dangerous Idea                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               From Forbidden Knowledge TV

Join us Saturday, Feb. 2, for GATE 3 and GATE Story Conference 2013 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills.  These remarkable transformational events will feature world-class entertainers, speakers, comedians, change-makers, and spiritual leaders who believe in the power of entertainment and media to change our world. Seats for this amazing day sell out every year, so don’t delay … GATE 3 is only one week away! Ticket prices remain low: $99 for StoryCon; $199 for GATE 3; and $248 for both.

Presenters and performers include Olivia Newton-John, spiritual leader Eckhart Tolle, comedian Louie Anderson, radio host Thom Hartmann, environmentalist Paul Hawken, script consultant Dara Marks, guitar virtuoso Ed Gerhard, Samsara and Baraka producer Mark Magidson, singer/songwriter Alex Cuba, poet Roger Housden, and many more luminaries (50+ at last count!) who will share their perspectives, wisdom, and talent to support transformational entertainment, media, and the arts. For more information and the full line-up for this year’s events visit: http://gatecommunity.org/gate3/

See you at the Saban Feb. 2!

GATE is the Global Alliance for Transformational Entertainment -
GATE is a 501(c)(3) charity organization. Donations are tax deductible.

Finally, a heart warming story of overcoming adversity.

Dawn Loggins grew up in a home with no electricity or running water. And before the start of her senior year at Burns High School, where she also works as a janitor, she was abandoned by her parents. Rather than turning her over to the Department of Social Service, school staff and the community of Lawndale, North Carolina decided to become Dawn’s family. Dawn is not angry with her parents – she just knows that she wants to make different decisions in her life.

To watch the video, click here.

We are settling into our new home on the bay north of Brisbane. It’s hot with lots of fires burning and two cyclones forecast for this week. It’s so hot here that the weather service has added two addtional colors to cover the hogher temperatures. Sydney had its highest temperature ever yesterday.

1. New Books of Interest

Molecular Consciousness Why the Universe Is Aware of Our Presence Françoise Tibika The molecules of living organisms are in constant communication, storing and transmitting information both at the intracellular level as well as across vast distances. Each imperishable atom of the universe is intrinsically linked with all other atoms through the information they carry. Just as we are undergoing constant transformation by the molecules surrounding us, our own molecules are continuously transforming the network of which we are a part. Thus, by effecting conscious change our actions have significance in a universe that is not blind to our presence. read more ISBN 978-1-59477-484-3 • $14.95 (CAN $16.95) pb 144 pages, 6 x 9 • 16 b&w illustrations Table of Contents   Excerpt   Back Cover Copy Download pre-publication sample pages in PDF format

Global Awakening New Science and the 21st-Century Enlightenment Michael Schacker Introduction by  Stephen Larsen, Ph.D. The current shift from an old mechanistic worldview to a new organic worldview is following the same pattern as other paradigm shifts in history, including the 18th-century Enlightenment. Global Awakening profiles the creative geniuses who have contributed to the birth of the organic worldview, from Galileo to Gandhi. It details the stages through which every paradigm shift progresses and shows how we can use our talents and energy to make the deep changes needed for global regeneration. read more ISBN 978-1-59477-482-9 • $29.95 (CAN $34.50) hc 480 pages, 6 x 9 • 40 b&w illustrations Table of Contents   Excerpt   Flap Copy Download pre-publication sample pages in PDF format

2. Reflections on Song Writing With Alan Bergman Alan & Marilyn Bergman have been writing perfect lyrics to great songs like The Way We Were for decades. In this television interview, her shares some thoughts on songwriting with the greats.  http://www.myfoxla.com/story/20614181/lyricist-alan-bergman-it-has-to-have-a-good-melody

3.  Monitoring New Product Launches Want to keep up to date on the latest new app, game or other interesting fun new product launch? It’s been almost two years since LaunchRock started sharing a lot of cool and amazing launches with subscribers. Check them out below, and if you want to keep receiving awesome emails like these,click here and sign up for their Discover mailing list. Glitchamaphone Glitchamaphone is a whimsical new music composition app for the iPad that’s easy and fun for all ages. Hypebomb Unlock the world of growth hacking with Hypebomb and learn how to acquire new users for your startup. The Universe Project A Virtual Parallel Universe simulation, The Universe Project is the most ambitious and unique computer game project ever. Mapo Put your passion on the map with Mapo. Collect, share and discover meaningful places socially. Follow LaunchRock Discover on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Go to LaunchRock.com

4. Doctor Wins David & Goliath Battle With FDA and Texas Medical Board

Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, a Polish immigrant, was trained as both a biochemist and a  physician. He’s spent the last 35 years developing and successfully treating cancer patients suffering with some of the most  lethal forms of cancer at his clinic in Houston, Texas. The treatment he developed involves  a gene-targeted approach using non-toxic peptides and amino acids, known as Antineoplastons.

After a grueling 15-year long battle, the  Texas Medical Board has officially ended its  crusade to revoke Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski’s medical license in an effort to end his use of Antineoplastons. The Texas Medical Board’s case against him was dismissed on November 19, 2012, just in time for Thanksgiving.

After it was revealed that the FDA had pressured the Texas medical board to revoke Dr. Burzynski’s medical license – despite the fact that no laws were broken, and his treatment was proven safe and effective – the obvious question was “why?”

The answer to this has to do with money. Lots and lots of money… See, Dr. Burzynski owns the patent for this treatment, and should it actually gain FDA approval, not only would it threaten conventional chemotherapy and radiation, it would also result in billions of dollars of cancer research funds being funneled over to the one single scientist who has exclusive patent rights – Dr. Burzynski.

Dr. Burzynski received much-needed publicity two years ago with the release of ‘ Burzynski: The Movie’, which will run on FKTV at 4:45PM Pacific tonight. This documentary is about his remarkable cancer discovery, and how he won the largest and possibly the most convoluted and intriguing legal battle against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in American history. Soon afterward, the Texas Medical Board sued him again – without success.

This year, a second film detailing his continued struggles, and victories, is scheduled to be released. As announced in the trailer (see below),

Dr. Burzynski is now doing the unthinkable…He is “the first and only scientist in United States history to enter the federal drug approval process for a proprietary cancer therapy without any financial support from the American government, the pharmaceutical industry, or the cancer establishment.”

While the doctor’s work has helped the few who have been able to afford his rather expensive treatments, the proof will be in the stage three trials he will soon initiate. If and when proven, he may be able to scale up production and make his therapies available to all at affordable rates. Stay tuned.

Video (about 5 mins):

Burzynski: Cancer Is Serious Business – Part 2 – Trailer

5.  New Economics Explained

The Book:  Rethinking Money: How New Currencies Turn Scarcity into Prosperity