December - 2012

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“When I dream alone, it is just a dream. When we dream together, it is the beginning of reality.” –Brazilian proverb

Muses surround and inspire us. They are within us. Through our intentions and interactions, we have the power to inspire personal and political change.

The purpose of The Activist’s Muse is to:

Expand our individual and collective understanding of progressive ideas to provoke conversation and change within the progressive community
Examine my personal experience through a social and political lens
Enhance critical thought with curiosity, creativity, and compassion
Connect and build community among progressive leaders/activists around the world

This blog is my playground and laboratory. Everything that I write is intended to be the beginning of a conversation, not an ending. I invite you to play and explore with me.

“Every sentence I utter must be understood not as an affirmation, but as a question.” — Niels Bohr

Dec 31, 2012
2 min

Fruition Coalition: The Year in Review

Thanks for being a part of the Fruition Coalition in 2012! At this time of year, I like to reflect on what has been accomplished. This year, the Fruition Coalition: Was re-energized by the founding director (me) leaving the material and psychological security of my full time job Published 139 blog posts on The Activist’s Muse Launched the Fruition Academy of Social Imagination and Action Held two webinars: Teaching, Learning, and Transformation & Social Reciprocity…total att

Dec 31, 2012
1 min

Debate or Discover

In debate, we need to decide. In discussion, we have the opportunity to discover. When we debate, someone is wrong and someone is right. When we discuss, we discover by learning more about ourselves and the other person. #debate #dialogue #discussion

Social+ Updates

Dec 30, 2012
1 min

Social+ Updates

The Social+ Boutique has two new designs inspired by my beautiful, precious cats: My dharma is to hear the birds singing All we need is to breathe and be My overriding goal for 2013 is to live an uncluttered life full of light. I am hoping that these simple messages will inspire all of us to focus on what is truly important in our daily lives. You can save $10 off your order of $50 or more through January 2nd at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) by entering promo code CONFETTI at che

Dec 28, 2012
1 min

Feedback or Critique

Feedback represents audience response. It consists of statements through which participants or spectators take responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Critique, on the other hand, consists of complaints about comparisons with unmet expectations. Through critique, participants or spectators assert their power over the artist or teacher by instructing her or him regarding what to do differently. Different actions require adjusted thoughts and feelings. I love

Dec 26, 2012
1 min

The Tao of Political Leadership

“The female overcomes the male with stillness, Lying low in stillness. Therefore if a great country gives way to a smaller country, It will conquer the smaller country. And if a small country submits to a great country, It can conquer the great country.” — Tao te Ching How would a Taoist view influence politics and activism? Why are we so afraid to submit? Why do we allow fear to govern our private and public lives? Why do we grasp and cling to our ideas? What would happen if

Dec 25, 2012
1 min

The Othering of Me

As a Jewish student at an evangelical Christian university, I have learned a lot about myself. This experience has both strengthened my Jewish identity and increased my understanding of what it truly means to be part of the outgroup. During my first residency in September 2010, I sat in my car and cried during lunch. It took all of the strength I had not to drive home, abandoning my dream of pursuing a doctorate. Because of one bad experience that day, I continued to interpre

Dec 24, 2012
1 min

The Writing Life

Censored!

The first time I published an article in an academic journal, I worked with an editor whose political views diverged from mine. He used his power as an editor to attempt to censor my thoughts by excluding sections of my work and suggesting rewrites that changed the meaning of what I wrote. I begrudgingly compromised in some areas and firmly stood my ground in others. It was an ongoing battle with several rounds of edits on each side. The topic of my paper was something that t

Dec 22, 2012
1 min

Jessica R. Dreistadt: Choosing to Create Peace Amidst Violence

My most recent contribution to the Huffington Post blog: Jessica R. Dreistadt: Choosing to Create Peace Amidst Violence. #mentalillness #nonviolence #peace

Dec 21, 2012
1 min

Exposure Composure

In the community where I live, there has surprisingly been a huge controversy over students reading Nickel and Dimed in their high school English class. The conservative parents leading this initiative feel that it is teaching students how to cheat on drug tests, that it is anti-Christian, and that it promotes a progressive political agenda. For my seventh grade Sunday School class, I was given an assignment to write a book report about Mein Kamph. I borrowed the book from my

Dec 19, 2012
2 min

Front Porch Communities

Some of my best childhood memories took place in the front porch of our home on Congress Street– listening to echoes of concerts at the Allentown Fairgrounds, gossiping with friends in our pajamas during sleepover parties, drinking sun spoiled milk on a lazy summer day. When I moved back to the Lehigh Valley in 2004, I noticed a deterioration in our community’s front porch culture. I attended an NAACP dinner downtown soon after relocating back home. When driving home through

Dec 18, 2012
1 min

Why Do You Ask?

Questions are a powerful means of exploration and discovery. When you ask or are asked a question, think about its purpose. Is it to… express sincere curiosity? make irrelevant conversation? make a statement (rhetorical)? expose others’ ignorance? pry into the personal lives of others? How can we be more intentional about the questions we ask to build stronger relationships, organizations, and communities? #communication #curiosity #exploration #questions

Dec 17, 2012
2 min

Laws Were Made to be Broken

Many spiritual teachers, and social constructionists, contend that we create the world around us through the language we use, whether or not it is intentional, in both our minds and in our conversations. In accordance with this principle, we gain weight when we obsess over how overweight we are and we lose lovers when we jealously obsess over other potential mates. Of the Ten Commandments, 80% of them tell us what not to do (I am not sure of the percentage of the 613 commandm

Untitled

Dec 14, 2012
1 min

Untitled

So grateful to Scott Erb for sharing this… World in Motion Today I came across this quote from Sophie Scholl, a woman I greatly admire for being part of the White Rose resistance to Hitler in WWII, executed in 1943 at the age of 21. Especially with all the craziness in the world today, and all the mundane distractions in life, I think this is a very powerful, meaningful and profound quote. Please read this. Think about it. Live it! “The real damage is done by those mill

Dec 14, 2012
2 min

Changemaker Chats

Changemaker Chat – B. Lee Coyne

B. Lee Coyne is a “catalyst”–journalist, counselor, educator. He enjoys exposure to multiculturism and has had the fortune of visiting 30 countries. His hobbies run from travel to cooking, poetry to philately, and I enjoy listening to instrumental music for relaxation–that’s one man’s form of nirvana. How did you first become interested in social change? Social Change entered my mind even before I knew the term. I was raised by tolerant grandparents and a mom who encouraged

Dec 14, 2012
1 min

Intersecting Visions

Organizations mediate the relationship between our vision for our life and our vision for the world. Through organizations, we can both realize our purpose and change social conditions. Too often, organizations focus on the later at the expense of the former. In other words, the twin visions of the founders or current leadership does not intentionally include space for that of the majority of people who invest their time in the work of the organization. It is assumed that rec

Dec 12, 2012
1 min

Social and Political Theory

Gender Blindness

While race blindness is becoming so taboo that it is almost a cliche (at least in my mind), gender blindness does not seem to share this social understanding. Is there a difference? Why or why not? Do you think we should strive to be aware rather than blind in these and other areas, or are there times when it is better to homogenize (I really do welcome dialogue on this horribly loaded question!)? #awareness #diversity #gender #race

Dec 11, 2012
1 min

Social and Political Theory

Interactive Taxonomy of Capital

I love Karl Marx and his work has greatly influenced my political views and my understanding of the world. As I mature, I find myself becoming more uncomfortable with his emphasis on materialism. While the material conditions of our lives impact us in innumerable ways, so do other forms of capital such as intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual capital. Each type of capital is critical to our well-being on its own; they also interact and build upon each other. They are

Dec 10, 2012
1 min

From Contingency to Consistency

Too often, I find myself making decisions based on conditions. This includes waiting for a “when” to happen before taking action and wondering what “if” something goes wrong. When I become aware of this, I recognize that living in this way negatively distorts the sense of wonder and possibility in my life. It also leads to limited expression of my needs. Rather than making decisions based on conditions, I think it is more effective to consistently integrate my truest, deepest

Dec 7, 2012
1 min

Whisper

In the mid -1970s there was a perfume commercial in which a woman said, “if you want to get someone’s attention…whisper.” It always woke me up out of a sound sleep. The fragrant mist of mystery surrounding stillness is alluring. And it is unusual today, where in your face tactics seem to overwhelm the media landscape. Gentle whispers are all around us, but are too often drowned out by noise. Yet, it is from within this clutter that silent space is most needed, most comforting

Dec 6, 2012
1 min

Starting a movement, mobilizing a revolution

Let’s dance together! #momentum #movement

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