You're Invited: Abundance League Thurs. 5/15 @ 6pm

Motivation: 1 a: the act or process of motivating b: the condition of being motivated 2: a motivating force, stimulus, or influence : incentive, drive (from Websters on line dictionary)

Please join us next Thursday, May 15, as Dmenace leads a discussion about how to listen to ourselves -and others - for motivation to pursue our dreams.

In Dmenace's words:

One of my gifts is that I have the ability to motivate and inspire . I also have the gift of gab. I LOVE to talk. Over the past few years I have been paying close attention to how I talk. Not to talk for the sake of talking, but to focus on my message and how I want to say it. Because of this I have found that people are now listening to me when I talk. Because they listen I find the words that come out of me are helping motivate and inspire them.

At the Abundance League my intention is to encourage all of the attendees to start listening to themselves talk. To see what happens when they pay attention to how they talk. We each have the potential to full fill our dreams. Each of us should learn how to talk to each other so we can inspire and motivate one another. Rather then bore each other.

As for me ... I am in the process of developing my skills so I can venture off into the world of being a professional motivational speaker. This is my initial step into this world.

"To burn always with this hard, gemlike flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life"

-Walter Pater

Once again, we're holding this month's meeting at the SOMA Creativity Center (SOMACC), see location info below. SOMACC brings together creative individuals, organizations and businesses aligned around a shared commitment to heal the earth, promote social justice, achieve spiritual fulfillment and maintain economic sufficiency. A perfect site for the Abundance League!

Please join us Thursday May 15th for our meeting. Please come ready to talk about your passions, needs, and gifts (in under two minutes) during announcements so that we can help each other create the communities of our dreams – right here in reality.

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MEETING
What: The Abundance League
When: Thursday, May 15th, 6:00-10:00pm (you can come and go anytime during the meeting)
Where: The SOMA Creativity Center, 81 Langton Street, Suite 13, San Francisco
Learn more about the SOMA Creativity Center here:
http://www.somacreativitycenter.org

Call 415.867.0429 if you need help finding the meeting while in transit.

AGENDA
6:00 - 6:30 - Mingle
6:30 - 7:15 - Member announcements (your passions, needs and gifts)
7:15 - 7:30 - Break, nosh, mingle, exchange support
7:30 - 8:30 - Dmenace, presentation & discussion
8:30 - 10:00 Nosh, mingle, exchange support, clean up

Learn more about our meetings here:
http://www.theabundanceleague.org/2007/08/about- abundance-league-meetings.html

BRING
-Yourself, your friends!
-Healthy stuff for the potluck
-Shares: books, CDs, DVDs or anything that you'd like to loan or gift at the meeting.

SITES
Check out recent posts at the league blog:
http://www.theabundanceleague.org

And upcoming events at the SOMA Creativity Center:
http://www.somacreativitycenter.org

April Meeting Notes

Thanks to everyone who made the meeting happen, including our featured facilitator Seth Lepore, our host the SOMA Creativity Center, and everyone who attended.

Seth created a series of experiences for the group centered around understanding how we can use our voice - combined with our intuition - to connect better with ourselves, others, and to the immediate environment. It was an eye opening experience for many, as voice is a resource that is often taken for granted with its powers not fully explored. The open floor plan and positive environment of the creativity center was perfect for this evening of experimentation and experiential learning.

If you'd like to learn more about Seth's work as a voice coach, please go here:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/803/02A

Our next meeting is Thursday, May 15th. We're featuring Dmenace, who will give a short motivational speech then facilitate a discussion about public speaking, a communication skill, along with many others, that enable citizens to better inform and support each other.

We hope to see you then to create culture and connection that support us in our quests for fun, friendship, meaningful work, intellectual stimulation, authentic connection, health, and happiness.

Please mark you calendar for upcoming events at the SOMA Creativity Center:
May 11: Party for Progress (Community Gathering)
May 17: Women Leaders in Sustainability

More information about the center here:
http://www.somacreativitycenter.org

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MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Name: Neal
Passion: bring people or organizations together to help each other
Needs: some sleep, stress relief
Gifts: book recommendations in social sciences, strategy, business plan review

Name: Bruce
Passion: To be healthy
Needs: none today, very content thank-you
Gifts: knowledge of health

Name: Maritza
Passion: changing western culture
Needs: new music, please recommend your favorites!
Gifts: communications and marketing strategies, knowledge of nonprofits

Name: Jen Burke Anderson
Passion: Writing thoughtful yet politcally charged commentary, Rock n' roll, expressing myself politically, learning more about the world, travel, transcendent live music experiences
Needs: Clients! I will make your web site text and structure rock!
Gifts: I'll read a story at your party for free!

Name: Dmenace
Passion:People!
Needs:Someone to help me take the leap of faith to fullfill my dreams. An inexpensive life coach??
Gifts:Can motivate, inspire, encourage. Willing to provide you or your organization with a motivational speech.

Name: Josh
Passion: Narrative of all sorts
Needs: funding, patience, strength
Gifts: writing, editing, banjo

Name: Bosco
Passion: Ideas
Needs: Ideas
Gifts: Ideas

Name: Pearl
Passion: People
Needs: Marketing ideas about a new biz venture - drill bits
Gifts: good listener

Name: Revi
Passion: Connecting and Creating
Needs: Interest and Intention to Co-Create
Gifts: SOMA Creativity Center Space and Project Achievements that can be leveraged

Name: Mary
Passion: Art, music, food, ideas, people's stories
Needs: beach where I can have a bon fire for my birthday party, invitations to things around town, because I'm new to town.
Gifts: non-profit management skills, fundraising, etc. invitations...

Name: lucci
Passion:the concept of universality and how the interrelatedness of things unfolds within it, and design planning to align human endeavor with social cohesiveness.
Needs:think tank oriented personalities interested in exploring asset and capacity-building design aspects of social development. real estate and land stewarding consultants to advise on land trust planning.
Gifts:design and logic oriented planning. 501(3)c sponsorship of social development projects that expand social cohesiveness.

You're Invited: Abundance League Thurs. 4/17 @ 6pm

This month Seth Lepore, a voice coach and musician, will be facilitating a discussion about using your voice to authentically connect to yourself, others, and your surroundings. This will be a fascinating and unique exploration of the relationship between voice - an amazing gift that we all possess - and personal and social health. We'll explore such questions as:

-What is your true voice and where does it come from?

-How do you speak from the heart with integrity and without sounding woo-woo?

-Do you notice yourself clamming up and overwhelmed with certain people and talking forever, completely engaged with others?

In addition, we'll discuss and do exercises to explore the unlimited possibilities of the voice in relation to yourself and others. The energetics of space and where different aspects of our voice reside in the body will be opened. We will look at how projection has everything to do with intention and spatial awareness. We will also examine the sociological and psychological effects of not speaking your truth. This will be experiential and participatory but nothing is required of you other than to be present. Learn more about Seth's work here and here.

VENUE CHANGE: we're holding this month's meeting at the SOMA Creativity Center (SOMACC), see location info below. SOMACC brings together creative individuals, organizations and businesses aligned around a shared commitment to heal the earth, promote social justice, achieve spiritual fulfillment and maintain economic sufficiency. What a great place for a league meeting!

Thank you Revi, Sam, and the team at the center for hosting us.

Please join us Thursday April 17th for our meeting. And as always, come prepared to tell us about your passions, needs, and gifts (in two minutes tops!) during announcements so that we can help each other lead lives aligned with our passions.

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MEETING
What: The Abundance League
When: Thursday, April 17th, 6:00-10:00pm (you can come and go anytime during the meeting)
Where: The SOMA Creativity Center, 81 Langton Street, Suite 13, San Francisco
Learn more about the SOMA Creativity Center here.

Call 415.867.0429 if you need help finding the meeting while in transit.

AGENDA
6:00 - 6:30 - Mingle
6:30 - 7:15 - Member announcements (your passions, needs and gifts)
7:15 - 7:30 - Break, nosh, mingle, exchange support
7:30 - 8:30 - Seth Lepore, presentation & discussion
8:30 - 10:00 Nosh, mingle, exchange support, clean up

Learn more about our meetings here.

BRING
-Yourself, your friends!
-Healthy stuff for the potluck
-Shares: books, CDs, DVDs or anything that you'd like to loan or gift at the meeting.

Facilitators Welcome

Most months Abundance League welcomes a guest facilitator to lead discussion about their project or passion. Topics vary, but the thread that ties it all together is how working together for the common good leads to abundance. For instance, we've had talks about compassionate communication and storytelling, which help people work together, and talks about public projects, like clothing swaps and cooperatives, that allow people build common wealth together.

Sometimes we have a guest artist whose work inspires a culture of generosity. The format for performances is similar to discussions, though performances may be longer than 15 minutes.

If you'd like to facilitate a discussion or perform at Abundance League, please e-mail gorenflo at gmail dot com. Check here to learn about the meeting format. Basically, facilitators get 15 minutes to present their topic and 30 minutes to guide discussion.

Below are some tips for facilitators based on what has worked well in the past. Feel free to add to these ideas in the comments.

• 15 minutes isn't much time to set up the discussion, so come prepared with a focused message. Find one or two things to focus on that you can convey in a memorable way.

• The presentation is set up for the discussion. We embrace the ethos of participation, so the discussion is important. Plus, at this point in the day, most people can't sit and listen for more than about 20 minutes!

• Talk about your topic in the context of your personal story. How did you come to the work? What does it mean to you? What impact has it had on your life and on others?

• Connect your topic to how your ideas can be used by members today to make their life better. Abundance League is about putting ideas into action.

• Have a short list of good questions to get the discussion going. One way to get discussion going is to ask how people feel about some aspect of your topic.

• Listen carefully to member announcements that precede discussion. Find ways to personalize your talk based on what members say in announcements about their passions, needs, and gifts. Connect your story to members' stories.

Common Wealth: The #1 Idea That Can Change the World

Time magazine's March issue listed the idea of "common wealth" as the number one idea that is changing the world.

Here is a key passage of their write up on common wealth:

"That's why the idea that has the greatest potential to change the world is simply this: by overcoming cynicism, ending our misguided view of the world as an enduring struggle of "us" vs. "them" and instead seeking global solutions, we actually have the power to save the world for all, today and in the future. Whether we end up fighting one another or whether we work together to confront common threats—our fate, our common wealth, is in our hands."

And get this, it's written by Jeffrey Sachs, AN ECONOMIST! I can hardly believe it.

If the significance of this fails to register, just consider that economics is referred to as the dismal science and studies the allocation - and they do not traditionally mean sharing - of scarce resources.

And that the for the last few decades or so, those economists espousing unchecked competition as the path to freedom and prosperity - the free market camp - have ruled the discipline. This camp includes Sachs who is famous for helping developing countries move toward competitive, free-market economies.

And that it was these free marketers who provided the intellectual underpinning of the conservative movement, whose success has lead to the systematic plundering of the American people's common wealth for over 20 years through an indiscriminate and extreme level of privatization and deregulation (I should know, I helped as an employee of a trade association in DC) and may yet bankrupt the US Government through war.

So for an economist, and a famous free marketer like Sachs, to see common wealth as the idea that has greatest potential to change the world, and for him to write something as visionary, and just plain damn hopeful as the above, is nothing short of a miracle. Nothing dismal about it.

In any case, I'm all for a free market with the infrastructure to share my stuff with whomever I want and so that others can do the same. And that allows me to allocate my resources - without mediation - to the projects that I think will do the most for the common good. Call it a free market. Call it common wealth. I don't care. In the end, it's common sense.

Carrot Mob: Activist Flash Mob Experiment This Saturday

My friend Kim Connector clued me in on this activist flash mob experiment. This is social creativity at it's best! Y'all should check it out. I might, but if I don't I'm going to invite Brent, the instigator, to the league to share the results of his brilliant idea.

Here's the e-mail Kim forwarded me from Carrotmob:

Carrotmob organizes consumers to make purchases, rewarding companies who make environmentally friendly choices. This is our first campaign ever.

On Saturday, March 29th at 1pm, everyone is going to showing up at K & D Market, on 16th St at Guerrero in San Francisco. We're going to try to buy everything they have. Everything. You've got a liquor cabinet...you might as well stock it up on Saturday.

You eat peanut butter, so stock up. Why? Because after a thrilling bidding war, Carrotmob has negotiated with this store that we will be tracking all the purchases, and then calculating the total revenue we bring to the store while we are there. They have committed to spending 22% (more than any competing store) of the revenue we bring in on energy-efficiency improvements to their store in order to fight global warming.

It's an easy way to solve a difficult challenge. It's a small campaign, but a big chance for a big idea. Snoop around the website and you'll begin to see the potential for a much-needed paradigm shift in terms of whose voices (hint: ours) should be defining the values and priorities of our economy (for more info about why this is needed, see the front-page news).

It's going to be hilarious. The afterparty is at Dolores Park. An amazing band (Blue Turtle Seduction) and an amazing rapper will be performing for the Carrotmob crew.

Everything you need to know is here.

I'm sending this email to people I know all over place because I need you to forward it to YOUR friends in SF, and because there's more that you can help with here.

Thank you,

Brent

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http://www.carrotmob.org
http://www.brentschulkin.com

March Meeting Announcements

Gayle Roberts lead a great discussion about fund raising that explored our relationship to money and how to connect to donors through their passions. Big thanks to Gayle, Kim Connector who hosted the meeting in her home and served some very tasty roasted potatoes, and to all who participated.
A few ideas from the discussion stood out:

• That fund raising is a great opportunity for transformation for the fund raiser and those who want to realize their dreams by supporting a cause
• When you truly connect to a donor through their passions and how you canhelp them make a dream come true, there's no need to be shy about asking for money or other help
• That giving is good for your health, and that you enlarge your soul and better connect to others by increasing your generosity
• That giving and getting are connected, that you make room for receiving when you give
• The learning how to give and receive are equally important to creating a culture of generosity. Reward those that give by accepting their gift fully
• That to be an effective fund raiser, all the rules that apply to building personal relationships apply to donor relations
  

We were also happy to see a great turn out of nonprofit folks from the below organizations, which I encourage you to check out and get involved in, especially if they're aligned with your passions:

• Hyphen Magazine
• Independent Arts & Media
• Forest Ethics
• 924 Gilman
• SF Women's Film Festival (4/9 to 4/13)
• Network of Bay Area Worker's Cooperatives
• Groundspark
  

NEXT MEETING
Our next meeting is Thursday April 17th. Seth Lepore, a voice teacher, will facilitate a discussion about how to increase the quality of connection to yourself and others through voice and may lead some voice exercises too. Learn more about Seth here.

We hope to see you then to continue our experiment in creating a social life that manifests fun, meaningful work, intellectual stimulation, health, and happiness. The social world is ours to create. This is not only an opportunity for fun, but a power we're given we can exercise daily.

Please see the member announcements below, and feel free to reach out to get or give help. There are lots of wonderful needs and gifts listed. Helping others is like eating organic food - it's good for you.

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Name:Jeremy Strickland
Passion:Healing Arts
Needs:Connecting w/ people looking for "bodywork" / healing arts.
Gifts:human touch

Name:kim connector
Passion:people, art, music, fashion, parties
Needs:connect with new people
Gifts:social "skilz", fashion consulting, social networking, great listener

Name:Jesse Townley
Passion: Music, egalitarianism, Art, Sustainability of Art/Creative efforts
Needs: sustaining alternative/underground art/music/culture
Gifts:music, organization, budgets, work flows, political action/networking (esp. Berkeley)

Name:Scarlett Shepard
Passion:SF Women's Film Festival (April 9-13), human rights, music, creative arts/film, youth service projects, creative consultant, cheerleader
Needs:Need help with grantwriting to help generate more money for professional development for underserved women filmmakers
Gifts:To get people to realize their full potential in the arts, if you ever need help with getting a film or creative project off the ground, you have an idea and need to know what to do next.

Name: Kasper Koczab
Passion: working towards creating local economies that don't neccessairly depend on cash. Worker coops and farming are also two things I get a bit happy about.
Needs: A free or very cheap office space for the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives staff person.
Gifts: Great at strategizing around PR and events for progressive grass-roots organizations and other cool projects.

Name: Hung Chang
Passion: music and arts
Needs: fundraising and sponsorship strategy
Gifts: legal

Name: Melissa Yang
Passion: community building
Needs: fundraising and sponsorship strategy
Gifts: strategic planning / data analysis

Name: Mary Fuller
Passion: art, music, gardening, bikes, sustainable urban planning, working with awesome people. And food.
Needs: A job at the intersection of my passion and gifts
Gifts: Fundraising, communications, strategic planning, 50-50 right-brain/left-brain split particularly good for working in small organizations.

Name:Maritza Schafer
Passion: Changing western culture
Needs: Someone knowledgeable about webite content management systems
Gifts: Communications and marketing, especially for nonprofits. Reiki Sessions

Name: JoAnn Saccato
Passion:Creating a food co-op that brings the producers and consumers together in Lake County to help create sustainable living patterns and foster a sense of community. Completing my Masters program for the project.
Needs:Funding and guidance for co-op and funding for Masters
Gifts: communication, community organizing, public speaking, vipassana meditation

Name: Dennis "Dmenace" Gallegos
Passion:People! Meaning I really enjoy connecting with people. Understanding that everyone wants the same thing. To be loved and appreciated. I specialize in helping people who are challenged with disabilities, mental and physical.
Needs: Help changing the way I look at money. Not being afraid of it. Learning to be smart about it. Someone to help me step off the cliff to fullfill my goals.
Gifts: Able to inspire and motivate people. Ability to understand why people are the way they are and accept that. Public speaking and a vast knowledge of the health care systems in the United States.

Name: Ray Tobey
Passion: Changing our expectations and model of leadership from Machiavelli to Gandhi and Martin Luther King
Needs: PHP expertise
Gifts: C++, html & technology knowledge, and if you'd like to serve in a local elected office, I can arrange that!

Name: Neal Gorenflo
Passion: bringing people together
Needs: any ideas about improving communications skills
Gifts: car pooling to and from abundance league

Abundance League Chapters

There are Abundance League chapters in San Francisco (founded in 2005) Harbin Hot Springs (2007) and Denver (2008). If you'd like to attend a meeting, please contact the following folks:

San Francisco, California - Neal Gorenflo (gorenflo at gmail dot com) or check this blog for meeting announcements. We usually hold meetings third Thursdays. Meeting announcements are posted the week prior.

Harbin Hot Springs, California - Russell Gonzaga (events at harbin dot org) or check their site.

Denver, Colorado - Taj Moore, e-mail tajomoore at gmail dot com or check their site.

If you'd like to start a chapter, just hold a meeting each month following the format in this post and contact me (Neal, see above) to let me know you've started holding meetings. I'll list your chapter on this site. And feel free to contact me for more information about starting your own chapter. I highly recommend holding meetings. It's fun and an amazing learning experience.

You're Invited: Abundance League Thurs. 3/20 @ 6pm

This month Gayle Roberts will be facilitating a discussion about fund raising. Gayle is a fund raising consultant whose approach is truly inspiring. Gayle is going to focus the discussion on how to develop the right mindset for fund raising plus some fund raising ideas you can use right away. Her talk will be tailored for those new to fund raising, who are money shy, help run a small nonprofit, or need some good grassroots fund raising ideas. Her message is simple and totally aligned with The Abundance League - that the world is filled with generous people who want to make a difference, that anyone who wants to do healing work can find people who will support them, and that all you need to get started today is right around you. You can learn more about her inspiring philosophy here.

We hope you will join us on the 20th. It will be a great discussion with your help. And as always, please come prepared to tell us about your passions, discuss your needs, and share your gifts so that we can support each other in leading inspired lives.

MEETING
What: The Abundance League
When: Thursday, March 20th, 6:00pm
Where: 448 14th Street @ Guerrero, San Francisco, call 415.867.0429 if you have trouble finding the meeting. Big thanks to Kim Nielsen, of Twice Baked catering, for hosting the meeting this month!

AGENDA
6:00 - 6:30 - Mingle
6:30 - 7:15 - Member announcements (your passions, needs and gifts)
7:15 - 7:30 - Break, nosh, mingle, exchange support
7:30 - 8:30 - Presentation & discussion
8:30 - 10:00 Nosh, mingle, exchange support, clean up

Learn more about our meetings here.

BRING
-Yourself, friends!
-Healthy stuff for the potluck.
-Shares: books, CDs, DVDs or anything that you'd like to loan or gift at the meeting.

February Member Announcements

Chun Yu hosted a great discussion about her experiences growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and her transformation from a world class scientist to award winning poet.

There are many lessons from the discussion, though one resonates with the values of league members - pursue your passion regardless of the obstacles, no matter how improbable your success. And involve others in your dream.

Chun made the transition from the arcane world of laboratory science to the equally arcane world of street poets and publishing. She did whatever it took to make it happen, including leaving her country and mastering a second language by years of regular reading and writing. While Chun did not let othersdefine her, she did find collaborators to help her realize her dreams.

Chun is an Abundance League exemplar, and we thank her, and everyone who attended, for sharing their life and work. Learn more about Chun here: http://www.chunyu.org

Our next meeting is Thursday March 20th. Fund raising expert Gayle Roberts will be hosting a discussion about grassroots fund raising strategies and how to connect to donors by linking their dreams with your organizations' work. Learn more about Gayle here: http://www.gayleroberts.com

We hope to see you then to continue our experiment in creating a social reality that manifests fun, meaningful work, intellectual stimulation, health, and happiness. The social world is ours to create. It's not only an opportunity for fun, but a power we're given that we must honor by exercising it wisely.

Please see the member announcements below, and feel free to reach out to get or give help. There are lots of wonderful needs and gifts listed.

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MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Name: Neal Gorenflo
Passion: getting people together and encouraging them to help each other
Needs: need a new space to hold League meetings! Please contact me if you have or know of a space
Gifts: book recommendations on society and culture

Name: Pearl Lee
Passion: connect with people from different background & culture
Needs: C++/Java projects, friends, weight-loss programme, English
Gifts: love to help others to organize things, just email me!

Name: Doris
Passion: people and urban spaces, social network analysis
Needs: take some furniture, a big table, new work desk, speakers, going on a trip across the US, need places to stay
Gifts: come to New York, I'll show you around.

Name: Russell
Passion: Writing and working with passionate people.
Needs: a laptop computer! And presenters for Harbin Abundance League
Gifts: Resource for arts community, Asian/Islamic research and information. Writing/editing.

Name: JoAnn Saccato
Passion: Co-creating the Lake County Community Cooperative through self-organizing
Needs: Treasurer, feasibility study, fellowship grant for masters project
Gifts: communication, writing, Reiki Master/Teacher, local connection in Lake County

Name: Shaun Brady
Passion: Green Construction Development/Infill, Green-Tech Industries, Waste-Conversion, Recycling Biz Ideas, Community Bldg Projects
Needs: Mentors, Coaches, Advisors, Networking Groups (Green Tech)
Gifts: Sports/Trips Enthusiast, Catering Service Lover-I'll Volunteer

Name: Jenn Cho
Passion: Art, movies, animations, computer modeling, computer graphics
Needs: creative and conscious-minded friends who can bounce off ideas/inspiration with me
Gifts: graphical design, photoshop stuff

Name: Colleen Schell
Passion: Bringing story driven independent film to the masses. Taking boys living on the streets and connecting them with basketball scholarships at high school prep school.
Needs: funding for the business, CEO for the business, funding for the boys
Gifts: My community connections – advertiaing

Name:Seth Lepore
Passion: Teaching people how to authentically and intuitively access their true voice through body, energy and spatial awareness. Multi-disciplinary art projects involving music, theater, dance and visual art. Localized economies.
Needs: Help with website design. Leads to spaces in the bay area for performance/installation projects.
Gifts: Sustainable investing, connections to seemingly unrelated but yet integrated concepts and subjects.

Name: Ray Tobey
Passion: Changing our model of leadership from Machiavelli to Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
Needs: Volunteers for a special election campaign. On April 8, my friend Barry Hermanson is on the ballot for U.S. Congress in SF and San Mateo. He's trying to reduce the overwhelming military slice in our national budget pie. See http://www.barryhermanson.org.
Gifts: If you want an elected office in local government, school board, city council, etc, I can arrange that! I can also offer advice on html, C++ and other technologies.
Web: www.bionictoad.com

You're Invited: Abundance League, Thurs. 2/28 @ 6pm

This month Chun Yu will be facilitating a discussion about culture, personal transformation, and her work in film and print. This should be a fascinating evening as we explore the experiences of an incredibly passionate and perceptive scientist and artist who experienced one of the most tumultuous periods of modern Chinese history first hand.

Chun Yu is the author of LITTLE GREEN: Growing Up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, an award-winning memoir in free verse. She began writing during her postdoctoral fellowship in biomedical engineering in a Harvard-MIT joint program. She is currently working on two books that continue the story of Little Green, a historical graphic novel about Mao, and a film project set in World War II and after in China. She also works as a consultant connecting biotech and medical device industries to China. Chun Yu will be talking about her transition from a scientist to a writer and filmmaker, the projects she is working on, and growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

More information about Chun Yu and her book can be found on her website: www.chunyu.org

I hope you will join us on the 28th. And as always, please come prepared to tell us about your passions, discuss your needs, and share your gifts so that we can support each other in leading inspired lives.

MEETING
What: The Abundance League
When: Thursday, Feb. 28th, 6:00pm
Where: 1168 Folsom, #304, San Francisco, call 415.867.0429 if you have
trouble finding the meeting

AGENDA
6:00 - 6:30 - Mingle
6:30 - 7:15 - Member announcements (your passions, needs and gifts)
7:15 - 7:30 - Break, nosh, mingle, exchange support
7:30 - 8:30 - Presentation & discussion
8:30 - 10:00 Nosh, mingle, exchange support, clean up

Learn more about our meetings here.

BRING
-Yourself, friends!
-Healthy stuff for the potluck.
-Shares: books, CDs, DVDs or anything that you'd like to loan or gift at the meeting.

January Meeting Announcements

Thanks to everyone who made the January meeting happen, including our featured speakers from Harbin and Doris for hosting the meeting in her home. It was a good showing, around 30 people in all.

Russell and Heather, our presenters from Harbin Hot Springs, shared
what it's like to live in their intentional community. It's a special place where
they take community seriously, and it shows in all they do. They invited y'all
to visit them and see for yourself.

Below are the meeting notes. There's gold in them thar hills, really.
You should check 'em out because the gifts and needs are matching up all
over the place. Feel free to reach out to help and get help.

Our next meeting is Thursday, February 28th. We're featuring Chun Yu,
an award winning poet who is making a documentary about a Japanese
man who taught school in China right after WWII. She will share this true
story about an ordinary man who does an extraordinary thing in response to
an atrocity. Learn more about Chun here: http://www.chunyu.org. Her life
is also an amazing story.

We hope to see you then to create culture and connection that manifest
fun, friendship, meaningful work, intellectual stimulation, authentic connection, health, and happiness.

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JANUARY MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Name: Maritza
Passion: changing Western culture
Needs: web developer
Gifts: communications strategy, nonprofit knowledge

Name: Doris
Passion: urbanism, urban scouting, people
Needs: live / work loft in NYC at a good price
Gifts: scientific knowledge about social networks & social network analysis

Name: Xander Page
Passion: facilitating authentic dialog and global change
Needs: collaborative conversation with social entreprenuers
Gifts: holding space for visioning and creating, planning out of intention

Name: Victor Rose
Passion: community, decentralized and nonhierarchical
Needs: new career in the city
Gifts: trained clairvoyant, willing to work exchange

Name: James Miner
Passion: fresh air
Needs: writer
Gifts: software for developing a book cover

Name: Russell Gonzaga
Passion: Elyseum Writers Group, Harbin Community, Sufism
Needs: attendees at upcoming Harbin Elyseum retreat, presenters at Harbin
Gifts: resource and info for youth advocacy, asian arts, and Islam

Name: Tom
Passion: understanding and helping others to understand where we are now, as a society
and more. And where we'd like to be. Abundance League, sustainability, networking,
disseminating information on the web
Needs: more participation / links for my blog, http://wecanchangetheworld.wordpress.com
Gifts: research, writing, networking, sustainability

Name: JoAnn Saccato
Passion: meditation, living remotely, my dog Shylila, creating an environmental
education center for youth from a abandoned miniature golf course
Needs: networking w/ possible partners to create above passions, opportunities
to turn this project into a masters program
Gifts: writing, facilitating, Reiki masters, teacher

Name: Lucci
Passion: developing social environments that model harmonious living and nuture universal condition for thriving
Needs: progressive oriented real estate developer to consult with on urban land trust acquisition and find support for pursuing my passion
Gifts: visioning and strategic design, life mapping,

Name: Amber Bieg
Passion: trees, environment, mama gaia, technology, equity, balance
Needs: network analysis, scalability analysis for implementing tree maps, fundraising and support for film project
Gifts: video production, business planning, marketing consulting, networking, fundraising, public speaking

Name: Emily Utter
Passion: environment, bikes
Needs: web developer
Gifts: help you network with bay area enviro group

Name: Sharon Hoffman
Passion: connecting people, esp through art & media as expressions of people's stories
Needs: knowledge of more like-minded people & orgs in addition to Abundance League
Gifts: help with how to tell your story or the story of your org.


Name: Matthew Blom
Passions/gifts: supporting people in having thriving relationship in every area of their lives. Helping organizations with internal communications.
Needs: information about how to set up credit card payment
communecology.com

Name: Tony Ricucci
Passion: environmental sustainability, social justice, spiritual fulfillment
Needs: professional collaboration opportunities fit for attorneys who have soul missions
Gifts: Awakening the Dream Symposium facilitator, bringing activism to causes, aligning purpose
with with creative visions

Name: Neal
Passion: fostering mutual support
Needs: foundation connections
Gifts: social science book recommendations

Name: dmenace
Passion/gifts: empower people who do not know what power they have. Healthcare - empower those who work in H/C and also who recieve healthcare
Needs: change my attitude about money, increase my income. Someone to teach me how to do this. to start my career as a health care consultant.

Name: Allison Quaid
Passion: art, sustainability, action for building a better world
Needs: good climate change ideas
Gifts: connection, collaboration, know environmental NGOs + city landscaper in Bay Area

Name: Bruce Tidwell
Passion: action against the machine, action to build a better world
Needs: I want to get with groups to take action
Gifts: jack of all trades, communication, healthcare

Name: Revi Schlesinger
Passion: business, sustainability, creativity, community
Needs: volunteers support to SOMAcreativitycenter.org for fundraising + technology
Gifts: capacity to figure out how to get it done and do it

Name: Seth Lepore
Passion: teaching body-based voice work, creating music, sustainable investments, performing, the labryinth, local economies
Needs: connections to assist in developing an organization for artists to live sustainably in all it's dimensions
Gifts: voice lessons, a local sustainable investment club

Name: Liz Becker, Becker & Co., a strategy and leadership firm
Passion: Leadership, adventure, my children, community, poetry, sustainability
Needs: access to sustainability leaders for book and documentary
Gifts: connection to my network of women leaders, East Bay contacts, leadership consulting & organizational development folk

Name: Andrea Kallai
Passion: developing a TV channel with shows that make you feel good!
Needs: help cultivating my channel
Gifts: organizing closets and other things, pilates, yoga instruction

Name: Heather L. Salmon
Passion: inspiring greatness
Needs: spread the word the dangers of cell tower radiation
Gifts: teacher, priestess, healer, producer, activist

Name: Remi Tan
Passion: architecture & sustainability
Needs: looking for green developer and arts venue operator jazz venue project, good solar power
provider contact
Gifts: design, green building, knowledge

Founders

Neal Gorenflo and Scott Levkoff founded Abundance League in April of 2005 after a months-long dialog that Neal initiated.

Maritza Schafer and Polly Whitaker became co-founders shortly thereafter adding their wisdom and energy to the creation of Abundance League.

After a few months, Scott and Polly decided to branch off on a similar but separate project called Beauty Engine.

Maritza and Neal have been co-hosting San Francisco Abundance League monthly meetings since then.

In 2007, Russell Gonzago formed a chapter in Harbin Hot Springs in Sonoma County California. In 2008, Taj Moore and Susan Coates formed a chapter in Denver, Colorado.

Abundance League Manifesto

We believe that abundance flows from helping each other. That mutual aid, collaboration, and interdependence lead to abundance in all it's forms - health, wealth, happiness, friendship, know how, great experiences, and more.

That scarcity is created by anything that keeps us from helping each other. That anything blocking increasing levels of cooperation cheats humanity of its full potential. That beliefs, behaviors, and social divisions that keep us from helping each other lead to poverty and violence.

That the purpose of our lives is to be of service to each other. That it is our responsibility to understand our unique abilities and passions, design a life of service that uses these for our own fulfillment and to the best advantage of others, and to find like-minded collaborators to advance our service projects. That this is not only our responsibility, but also one of the most powerful sources of purpose, meaning, and joy to do the work we were meant to do.

That it is our responsibility to improve the quality of our lives and others. That we should not expect someone else to do this for us. A better world is our responsibility and counts on our every action. That creating a better world is actually easy, counts on many little actions in our daily lives, and is something we can do now starting with those right around us.

That we have everything we need to create a better life and world within and around us. That when we act on our most deeply held dreams for humanity with humility, inclusiveness, determination, faith, generosity, honesty, and good intention, that we will be aided by those around us in the time and measure needed. That simple actions added up will not only result in a more satisfying life for ourselves, but a positive shift in world affairs.

Quote of the Moment

“Community connectedness is not just about warm fuzzy tales of civic triumph. In measurable and well-documented ways, social capital makes an enormous difference in our lives...Social capital makes us smarter, healthier, safer, richer, and better able to govern a just and stable democracy."

-Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone

It was ideas like these that lead to the founding of Abundance League. Hey, who doesn't want to be smarter, healthier, safer, richer...?

You're Invited: Abundance League Thurs. 1/24 @ 6pm

Happy New Year Leaguers!

We're off to a great start this year. We're branching out! Russell Gonzaga and Taj Moore, formerly of the SF Abundance League, are starting monthly meetings in their new hometowns of Harbin Hot Springs and Denver, respectively. Benefits of this growth spurt are already flowing. Russell invited past SF Abundance League speakers to present at Harbin, with a free overnight stay included. The offer is still good. And two former speakers, Matthew Blom of Communecology and John Furey of Mindtime, are talking to Russell about about holding professional workshops at Harbin.

This leads us to this month's meeting. Russell will be presenting about Harbin Hot Springs. Harbin is a business, but is also a very special community, one that includes it's guests, workers, those who live in neighboring towns, and more. It's also a nondenominational spiritual center and retreat for activists. Because of it's unique history and mission, it has developed norms and community technology that foster social harmony and abundance. In other words, they take community seriously and it pays. Their hotel has one of the highest occupancy rates around. And people flock from all over the world to work, live, and even retire at Harbin. Russell will speak about Harbin's unique community and it's growing role as a retreat center for activists. I hope you will join us.

And as always, please come prepared to tell us about your passions, discuss your needs, and share your gifts so that we can support each other in leading inspired lives.

MEETING
What: The Abundance League
When: Thursday, Jan. 24th, 6:00pm
Where: 1168 Folsom, #304, San Francisco, call 867.0429 if you have
trouble finding the meeting

AGENDA
6:00 - 6:30 - Mingle
6:30 - 7:15 - Member announcements
7:15 - 7:30 - Break, nosh, mingle, exchange support
7:30 - 8:30 - Presentation & discussion
8:30 - 10:00 Nosh, mingle, exchange support, clean up

Learn more about our meetings here:
http://www.theabundanceleague.org/2007/08/about- abundance-league-meetings.html

BRING
-Yourself, friends!
-Healthy stuff for the potluck.
-Shares: books, CDs, DVDs that you'd like to loan or gift at the meeting.

BLOG
Check out the recent posts:
http://www.theabundanceleague.org

Putting the Social in Social Justice

Here's an article I wrote that was published in the Urban Alliance for Sustainability's December newsletter. Enjoy.

“Whoever you are, whatever you are, start with that, whether salt of the earth or only white sugar.”

-Alice Walker

Unfortunately, the struggle for social justice is all too often thought of as a movement conducted on the societal plane by professionals in court, government, the media or the marketplace. While these are often the dramatic loci of action, where the stakes seem highest, and where battles are waged in the public arena, often over long periods, they are not the only places to build power. Nor are professionals the only people who can work toward social justice.

Each of us can build power in our everyday social interactions, in the conversations and meetings with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Each of us has the chance to be designers of our own social realities, ones that foster the conditions for health and happiness - no bullhorn required.

In fact, your own social circle may be the best place to start the journey to social justice, because this is where you can have the biggest impact. Why? Because this is where you have the most freedom to act. And because business, political, and artistic innovations always emerge from intimate, local contexts like your circle of friends. You can take action in your social circle today.

The idea can be boiled down to this: power is not something that is "out there" or for tomorrow. It is something available to us here and now. It is within us and around us in our social networks. You have it and can build it wherever you are and whomever you are with. It’s a potentiality that can be cultivated consciously.

While this may seem like a bold claim, there is a lot of evidence that this is true. Some of it can be found in the research on social capital. Social capital is made up of three things – social connectedness, trust, and reciprocity. While social inequalities often stem from systematic oppression, a wide range of social outcomes are linked to social capital including education, health, contentment, crime rates, and prosperity.

For example, before Robert Putnam wrote Bowling Alone, he conducted a decade long study that explained, among other things, why Northern Italy is more prosperous than Southern Italy. Putnam found that Northern Italy “did not become civic simply because they were rich. The historical record strongly suggests precisely the opposite: They became rich because they were civic.” In other words, Northern Italy became richer because it had more social capital – people were better connected, trusted each other more, and helped each other more across family lines than people in Southern Italy.

Another striking example is explored in the book Heat Wave by sociologist Eric Klinenberg. In July 1995, a disastrous heat wave hit Chicago killing over 700 people. Part of the book explored differences in the death rates of North and South Lawndale, two adjoining neighborhoods with similar socio-economic status, climate, and numbers of elderly living alone (the highest risk group in the heat wave). Despite the similarities, South Lawndale’s death rate was 75% lower than North Lawndale’s. Klinenberg attributed the lower death rate to higher social connectedness and support in South Lawndale, which he referred to as a “growing little village.”

These stories inspired a few friends and I to start The Abundance League, a nearly three-year experiment in consciously building social capital among San Franciscans interested in social sustainability. The name Abundance League suggests that the richness of our lives depends on working together. We figured that since social capital seemed to play such a big role in determining quality of life, we should learn as much as we could about creating healthy social environments and practice doing it ourselves.

Our monthly meetings are set up to do just that. The meetings have three parts – announcements, a main presentation, and ensuing discussion as well as lots of time to mingle before and after. Announcements set the stage for the entire meeting. Each participant gets three minutes to talk about three things – their passion or project, what they need to move their passion or project forward, and what gifts (skills, contacts, knowledge, etc.) they can share to help other members move forward. For the main presentation, we bring in speakers to give in-depth talks about their efforts in social sustainability. The information shared in announcements and the presentation stimulates an ongoing exchange of contacts, knowledge, and support between participants. Helping each other is an explicit expectation, one that is enthusiastically lived up to by participants.

I have received a great deal feedback from those who have attended regularly that this simple monthly meeting has been very rewarding. We’ve not only had fun and learned a lot at each meeting, but we’ve weaved a social web together. Over time, we have forged new connections, gained deep knowledge of each other’s dreams, and ignited a cycle of exchange that throws off many benefits such as jobs, collaborations, cross linking of each others’ projects through board memberships and volunteering, consulting projects, speaking opportunities, donations to each others’ causes, other social outings, and new friendships. We’ve built social capital in a fun and natural way, letting the format and intention of the meeting do most of the work.

I’ve learned many lessons from co-facilitating the Abundance League. Here are a few ideas to try in your social circle:

• Weave. Talk stock of your friends. Do they all know each other? If not, foster friendships between them. It will make your friendships even stronger. And make a habit of introducing people, even if you’ve only just met them.

• Include. If you already have a tight circle of friends, find ways to bring new people into your circle or link to other groups. This will bring new ideas, opportunities, and connections into your life.

• Mobilize. Let your friends know what you stand for. If you have a cause or passion, share it. And find ways to involve them.

• Connect. Bring your friends together regularly. Because of differences in place and schedules, it can be difficult to meet up with your friends one at a time. Host a regular event.

• Help. Nothing speaks louder than action. Find ways to help your friends, and in the most meaningful ways. This requires that you to discover what’s most important to them. Make mutual support an explicit part of your social circle.

• Share. Make a habit of loaning and giving. Possessions can be a point of connection. Exchanging books, CDs, and DVDs is a great place to start.

• Enjoy. The benefits of your efforts won’t come immediately. Relationships take time. Make the process fun and the benefits will come in their own time.

By experimenting with these simple techniques in your everyday life, you can build social capital and put the “social” in social justice.

The Story of Stuff

“We’re richer, and richer, and richer, and yet, no happier.”

Socializing Makes You Smart

One of the reasons I became interested in social sustainability was the ample evidence of manifold value of social capital. It appears to play a fundamental role in determining social outcomes, everything from educational attainment to health to crime seem to be impacted by social capital. And low levels of social capital seemed like the single root of many serious social problems, but addressable in low-tech ways (like Abundance League itself).

Today I came across a piece of evidence that near perfectly demonstrates this principle. The below quote is from an article in Medical News Today about recent research indicating that 10 minutes of conversation a day is just as effective as mental exercises in maintaining memory and cognition:

"In our study, socializing was just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental exercise in boosting memory and intellectual performance," said Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) and a lead author of the study with ISR psychologist Eugene Burnstein and psychologist Piotr Winkielman from the University of California, San Diego.

So go ahead, make your day, have a conversation and be smarter for it. What could be easier?