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"In Germany they [the Nazis] came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." - Pastor Martin Niemoeller, 1946 |
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Breaking Free
Aspects of a Pleistocene Paradigm
This is an excerpt from the book, "Coming Home To The Pleistocene" by Paul Shepard.
Changing Minds
Book Droppings
The idea came from Book Crossing, which is a kind of global book club. Really it's a system of leaving books around to be found and read by others. It's a very cool idea that can be used to spread our vision. Why not leave a copy of "Ishmael" on a park bench, or "The Story of B" in some trendy cafe? Just think of a place where people gather, and leave a book with a note attached that tells them it's free, and perhaps why you're leaving it.Chalk
Yep, that's right. Good old fashioned chalk. You can write on sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, roads, rocks, and bricks. There are many benefits to leaving messages this way: it's cheap, it's easy, it's quick, and best of all it's not permanent which minimizes any potential legal problems. You can buy chalk at any number of places. I recommend the chalk that is specifically made for children because it washes easy and comes in bright colors. You can leave simple messages like "Read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn", or more complex quotes or statements depending on time and accessibility. You can comment on nearby advertising, business, or maybe even leave a message on the highway for people stuck in rush hour traffic like "Is this what you wanted to do when you grew up? If not, read..." and so on..
Creating A Tribal Business
Re-Cycling
Create a center that rebuilds bicycles for rent or sale.Sacred Hoop Resale Shop
The Sacred Hoop is a not-for-profit resale shop that believes that we are caretakers of Mother Earth. It is our responsibility to take care of the land, have compassion and respect towards all beings and realize that because everything is connected in life, our choices determine the fate of the future generations. They offer recycled merchandise to the community at affordable prices. Proceeds are donated to organizations that reflect our values..
Freedom from Wage Slavery
Why Work?
This is a pro-leisure and anti-wage-slavery group of people dedicated to exploring the question: why work? This site provides information, support, and resources for those looking for alternatives to traditional employment.Working Sucks
Day after day we get up early and trudge to work. We swallow our pride and put up with being ordered around by the boss. We sweat and toil at jobs we hate, wasting away our lives. Why do we do it? Because we have to? Because we need the money? Or because we don't know how to live any other way? This is from a booklet that talks about how to work less..
Living Sustainably
Street Swap
In May 2002, 19-year-old Dugan Murphy, the primary founder of Free Boxes, a collaborative effort started with his friends, began using recycled newspaper boxes to create a voluntary street swap. The boxes used by Dugan were abandoned newspaper mailboxes collecting trash. He cleaned them and then painted the words "Free Box" on top of each one, and included simple instructions. People walking by the boxes can either drop off unwanted items or can pick up left items and provide them with a new home. Items left are either free of charge or donated at a minimal cost. There is no one monitoring the taking and leaving of objects, though someone regularly stops by to clean up the boxes and make sure that they aren't filled to over capacity.Tool Library
Have you ever bought and expensive specialty tool like a garden tiller that you only use once a year? Suppose that instead, you got together with a few of your neighbors to buy one. Not only would you save on the initial cost, but the maintenance would be cheaper, and you would only be using a fraction of the resources. This is the basic idea behind the Tool Library. A group of neighbors or friends meet and decide what tools would be useful to have in such a library. Then they can take an inventory of who already has what, and pick out the ones they want to keep. Duplicates can be sold off, and the money put towards new tools or even into a tool "slush fund" that would be available for later additions to the library. The details and size of the library will vary depending the size and needs of the group..
Miscellaneous Ideas
Guerrilla Planting
This is a way to give back the Earth one square foot at a time. The idea is to get yourself some bulbs, shrubs, trees, seeds, or cuttings (all indigenous of course) and plant them anywhere you can find that needs them. Just let your creative juices flow and plant, plant, plant. You can plant in cemeteries, empty lots, government offices, industrial parks, golf courses, or even cracks in the asphalt. Keep in mind that many of your plantings may not survive, but the point is to keep on planting no matter what. You'd be surprised what plants can do in time..
Publishing Resources
Heart Power Press
HeartPower Press recognizes that books are sacred. As Prometheus Press founder Paul Kurtz beautifully articulates, "They are testaments to the creative human spirit, an essential sustaining source of human culture." In this sense, books provide an opportunity to both articulate and explore what really matters in our lives, what is unique to us as individuals and what is common to us all as community. This is especially true when books are written as communication from the heart, to the heart.HeartPower Press is committed to offering resources to support the search for truth in all its forms, providing tools that invite introspection, dialogue and community, and contributing towards soul-centered living in a sustainable world.
VG Kids
VG Kids is an internet based manufacturer of high quality, low cost custom printed bumper stickers, t-shirts, posters, and other merchandise. The concept of VG Kids is to use the internet as a medium to provide merchandise to independent musicians, record labels, small businesses and other organizations at a low cost with excellent service. It is our goal to make high quality products accessible to these groups by simplifying the processes involved and capitalizing on our creative problem solving ability, thereby lowering the costs to the purchaser. We believe that by keeping as many processes as possible in-house (i.e. equipment maintenance, production, marketing, web site development and maintenance, etc.) and turning out consistently high performance products and customer service, VG Kids will grow exponentially. We have been operating on a limited basis since August of 1999 and seen clearly that the audience for our services exists and welcomes us with open arms.