May Meeting Notes
Thanks to everyone who made it happen, including our featured
facilitator dmenace, our host the SOMA Creativity Center, and everyone
who attended. It was an fun and uplifting time, as usual.
Dmenace gave a short motivational talk about the power of words and of
listening. The experience he shared came out of his years of training counselors who help folks with cognitive challenges, addictions, or both.
He followed up the talk with a group exercised where we broke into groups
of two and took turns talking about our passions and reflecting back what
was said. Then we took turns inspiring one another! The talk and exercise
was a perfect example of less is more. There were many powerful insights
that came out this simple listening and motivating exercise, and the great
discussion that followed.
Here are just a few of the things we learned:
-That listening well is a healing force, a powerful way to honor people, and
a great way to connect.
-It's simple, but it can be hard! There can be lots of distractions including
"mind chatter." Trusting yourself that you can listen well is foundational.
It helps to acknowledge the distractions without letting them overcome you.
-There are many ways to listen - with your rational mind, with your intuition,
with your emotions. Be conscious of your power to listen in different ways,
even during the same conversation. It will heighten you ability to understand the person and situation.
-Sometimes all that is required is to let what the person say wash over you.
-Talk about your talk. If you see an opportunity to improve the dialog, reflect back what is going on in the conversation and suggest to take it in another direction.
Or synthesize what is being said to raise understanding to a new level. Great ideas emerge from great dialogs.
-We have the power to help shape our conversational partners in a way that
they what, and beyond, if we listen, check for understanding, then take it
to the next level by inspiring them.
-The gift of your attention is one of the most valuable gifts you can give.
The ability to be present, to listen well is an important part of being a leader.
NEXT MEETING
Our next meeting is Thursday, June 19th. Emily and Lucci will be
facilitating the meeting. And we're featuring David Gross.
Here's a bit on David, in his words:
"In March, 2003, David Gross quit his $100,000/year job and has since
kept his income below the federal income tax line so that he would no
longer be paying for the Iraq War.
At first, he worried that this would mean a life of deprivation and
struggling to make ends meet. But he found that paradoxically, his life
became richer, fuller, and more fulfilling. True abundance, it turns out, has
more to do with being able to put 100% of your energy on the side of your
priorities and values than it has to do with having a big salary.
Gross will discuss some of what he has learned along the way, the theory
behind tax resistance, and how you can live an abundant life on a
below-the-tax-line income (even -- especially! -- here in San Francisco)."
We hope to see you then to continue creating culture and connection that
support us in our quests for fun, friendship, meaningful work, intellectual
stimulation, authentic connection, health, and happiness.
Also, please check out the cool goings on at the SOMA Creativity Center,
who host our meetings in their awesome space: http://www.somacreativitycenter.org
--
MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS - there's some goodies below, so see if there is
anything you need that's being offered, or that's needed that you can offer.
Hint, someone is offering free massage.
Name:Kachina Katrina Zavalney*
Passion: Connecting people and organizations together to lead a more fullfilling life!
Needs:Creative theater outlets, where I can incorporate sustainability lessons.
Gifts:I just got into Grad School for Organizational Development & Psychology @ Sonoma
State University!Event Production, from coordinating to decorating, you name it I am there!!
Name: Revi Schlesinger
Passion: Leveraging myself for meaningful positive impact
Needs: Inspiration & Collaboration, Support spreading the word about Sustainability Emersion Experiences
Gifts: Creativity & Analytical Collaboration
Name: bosco
Passion:making things, recording of xxx,
Needs: pretty content with life at the moment
Gifts: technical advice, comp science
Name:martin
Passion:family, connection,
Needs:to have ideas on how to be more creative in life, to fulfill the need
Gifts:tech background, enterprise apps, spanish
Name: ray
Passion: chg model of leadership, switch to MLK model of leadership
Needs:writing a book about politics, going to writers conference, need to know how publishing world works
Gifts:knows tech things, programming languages, if you want to be on the city council i can arrange that
Name:lucci
Passion:following my purpose: expanding the cohesiveness of my society and environments in ways that align with my
personal nature; studying the genius that each of us represents in interpreting wisdom; how all these have a role in
cohesiveness
Needs:identify the alignement between this strategy and your interests and projects; formulating collaboration with a
significant design and conceptual aspects of projects
Gifts:east bay chapter of AL - and offshoot as a development tank where we start making direct connections aligned
with our temperaments and natures.
Name:kim
Passion:my work life balance - married and just launched business;
Needs/gifts:my personal connections; fashion concierge - Fashion Save - tours of the real SF design scene
Name:Mary
Passion: Helping people get excited and engaged in social change
Needs:People to collaborate to support independent artists and journalists. Need interns and volunteers
Gifts: Fundraising and non-profit management experience
Name: Sam
Passion: Constantly changing - my close friends and the environment this week
Needs: connections in SE Asia of any form, though I'm specifically looking for names of people and organizations
that I can volunteer or work with doing any form of work.
Gifts: going to SE Asia for 3 months and hoping to contribute to a community or an organization there
Name:Kim Connector
Passion: my new marriage and business
Needs: copywriting, help with the beginning stages of setting up a business,high end photographer
Gifts: fashion style consulting, social butterfly- lots going on, connections
Name: Flo Jayme
Passion:Connecting people to their bodies through massage therapy, fitness training & snowboard instruction
Needs: To build massage endurance after taking a five year break
Gifts: Offer massage/fitness consultation/snowboard instruction for free/donation (cover laundering & cost of oils lotion)
Name:Maritza
Passion:Changing western culture
Needs:database expertise - any level of knowledge is probably higer than mine!
Gifts:native spanish speaker - will spell check and edit your spanish document.
Name: Emily Shurr
Passion: Arts, Education, Psychology, Enlightened Team Dynamics
Needs: Job leads in nonprofit management; Book editing gigs
Gifts: Editing books, writing & editing, communications. Advising & working with nonprofit Boards to create positive
change in collaborative method.
Name:Pierre Riche
Passion: Artistic expression
Needs: Art sales management
Gifts: Artistic inspiration
