Michael Brownlee shares some beautiful stories about Going Local in Boulder Colorado.  Michael shares what he calls a renaissance of local.  I love the idea of a "rebirth" of living local in Boulder and around America.  Watch the video and let us know what you think.

My parents were older when I was born and I was exposed to a bit of their "local" small town lifestyle they both grew up with in rural Wisconsin in the 1920s through the 1950's.  Even when I was young, growing up in the country and working on an "old fashioned" neighbors dairy farm I saw a lot of very local style living, close to home, close to the earth, with an understanding of working with / being in nature.  Saving, re-using, conserving was economically necessary for my  parents and connecting with our neighbors helping each other was what was done. 

What are your local stories? 

Share here or over on our new Going Local Discussion board.

~ Mark

 

The Cultural Creatives, How 50 Million People are Changing the World is a guidebook to the transformation happening in our worlds today.  The book is full of amazing stories of transformation, the shifts individuals are experienceing, they're between periods and processes of return.  I especially resonated with Elizabet Sahtouris’s story.  There are many more of these journeys of transformation in the book.

Here’s one of my favorite excerpts from the book.

 

Economic historian Karl Polanyi titled one of the best books on the emergence of the modern, urbanized, industrialized world The Great Transformation. It is a good name for our time as well.  The evidence says that we are entering a period that will require transformation – fundamental structural changes in how we live and work, how we think about ourselves, and how we conduct our politics, economics, and technologies.  If we can go through those changes as well, or well enough, humanity will be able to live on this planet without destroying the environment, and our children’s children will have a future worth living.

Achieving this end will mean not just traveling in the great transition period but negotiating our way through it…. 

 

If you haven’t read The Cultural Creatives I highly recommend this book.  While I was reading it I felt a strong sense of community with the cultural creatives profiled and the ideas shared.  I realized that many of us are waking up to a new integration of living and being in a more authentic and wiser culture.  This is a book that kept me awake reading  and wanting more.

The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World

Have you read the book?

~ Mark 

Tees for Change was recently started here in Boulder, Colorado.  We asked Andreea, the founder to share a little bit about her company and how she is making a difference through conscious capitalism.

~ Mark

What is Tees for Change?

 

Tees For Change is a yoga-inspired apparel company dedicated to the power of positive thinking. Adorned with phrases such as 'choose happiness,' 'seek balance,' 'practice kindness' and 'today matters,' our organic cotton and bamboo shirts remind you to live life to the fullest.

Why did you start Tees for Change?

I started Tees For Change because I wanted to remind myself to think positively.  I wanted to combine my love for organic and eco friendly living with my experience in marketing and with my love for positive thinking.

I noticed that you said you plan to change the world.  How do you see that happening with Tee shirts?

I hope the tees will bring about change at many levels: 

• the person wearing the shirt - their mind shifts when they think about 'today matters,' for example. What does it mean to them?

• the people who see someone wear our shirts - what does 'seek balance' mean to them? I hope it gets them to think about what the words on the shirts mean. There's often an inner conversation that subconsciously happens when you see a tee with our messages

• the people manufacturing the shirts - by supporting organic farming, we help protect the people who grow and harvest our cotton and bamboo. They don't breathe in all the nasty chemicals and pesticides that conventional cotton uses.

• the environment - by using sustainable materials we help protect our environment and we also plant a tree for every tee we sell

What inspires you to live the change everyday?

I am inspired by people who do good things and people who want to make a difference. I am inspired when someone who buys our shirts writes a thank you note and tells me how the tees have made a change in his/her life. I am inspired by the people I come in contact with through Tees For Change. My family and friends inspire me.

Where can I buy Tees for Change?

You can check out our list of retailers at www.teesforchange.com and also on our website. We're currently in almost 50 yoga studios and boutiques across the country.

What are your most popular Tees?

Anything with 'choose happiness', 'practice kindness' and 'live mindfully'.

What are your Tees made from?

Our tees are made from 100% organic cotton or 70% bamboo/30% organic cotton mix. They are also dyed with low impact dyes and screen-printed with water-based inks.

What's the Global Releaf cause that Tees for Change is involved with?

We've partnered with Global Releaf to plant a tree for every shirt we sell through our website. For each tee we sell we donate $1 and Global Releaf uses our donation to plant tree across the United States and the globe.

Thanks Andreea!  We look forward to seeing your Tees all over Boulder. 

Tees for Change

If you know of other conscious businesses, community non-profits, projects, events and local community supporters around Boulder that would be interested in sharing their stories please send us an e-mail or share it yourself in our discussion areas.

 

 

 

 

Come join us and EAT LOCAL! Thanksgiving potluck dinner and harvest celebration on Saturday, November 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the Altona Grange.
 
Boulder County Going Local has recently connected with the Altona Grange, and we will be hosting this event at the Grange Hall located at 39th and Nelson Road (Table Mountain area). We're hoping that several members of the Grange (which is in the process of being revitalized) will join us. An inspiring documentary film on community supported agriculture will be shown at 7:00 p.m.
 
Please bring food to share which was produced as locally as possible. And to be kind to those with particular food sensitivities (e.g., allergies) or ethical commitments (vegetarian/vegan), please label the ingredients of your offering.
 
Also, please bring your own utensils, napkins, dishes, bowls, etc. Water, coffee and tea will be provided.



 
Remember the pledge of the Locavore:
If not FROM BACKYARD, then locally produced.
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then organic.
If not ORGANIC, then family farm.
If not FAMILY FARM, then local business.
If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then fair trade.
To get to the Grange, take Hiway 36 north of Boulder. Go about one mile past Left Hand Canyon and turn right onto Nelson Road. The Grange Hall will be about one mile east, at 39th and Nelson.
 
We look forward to your joining Boulder Going Local for this special evening at the Grange!

A warrior of light succeeds, thanks to the right allies.

 ~ by Paulo Coelho

 

All of you who see yourselves as warriors of light must share with others the happiness of your choices; otherwise, you’ll never come to know your own qualities and shortcomings.  So before you undertake any major project, find allies – people who are interested in what you’re saying,  “Find other warriors of light.”  I’m saying, Find people with different skills, because a warriors fight for his or her dream is no different from any other path that is followed with enthusiasm.”  Your allies won’t necessarily be people everyone looks at with admiration.  Much to the contrary, they are people who aren’t afraid of making mistakes, so they make lots of mistakes.  That’s why what they do isn’t always praised or acknowledged.  Yet these types of people frequently change the world, because after making mistakes, they hit on something that is exactly right and will make all the difference to their communities.

 

Allies are people who can’t hang around waiting for things.  They make decisions as they go along, even though they realize this type of behavior is risky.  The best allies are those that don’t think like most people.  That’s why, when looking for companions who share the enthusiasm of your dream, it’s important to believe in intuition and pay little heed to others’ comments.  Most human beings judge others using their own limitations as models.

 

Join forces with those who experiment, take risks, fall, get hurt and then take risks again.  Stay away from people who affirm conventional wisdom, those who criticize people who think differently, those who’ve never taken a step without being sure they’d be respected for it and those who prefer the comfort of certainty to the tension of doubt.  Ally yourself with those who aren’t afraid of vulnerability – those who watch what their neighbors are doing, not to judge but to admire them for dedication and courage.

 

Join with those who are flexible.  These are people who don’t hesitate to change direction when they come across an insurmountable barrier or when they spot a better opportunity.  They possess the quality of water: getting around rocks, adapting to the flow of the river, sometimes changing into a lake – until the hollow is full and the stream can continue on its path, because water never forgets its destiny is the sea.

 

Join those who have never said, “That’s it; I have to stop here.” Because just as winter is followed by spring, nothing can stop, and the warrior’s road is an endless path.  After you achieve your objective, you find another challenge, and it’s necessary to start all over again, always using everything you’ve learned while you’re traveling along.

 

Join with those who sing, tell stories, enjoy life and have joy in their eyes – because happiness is contagious and always manages to prevent people from becoming paralyzed by depression, loneliness and difficulties.

 

Join those who walk with their heads held high, even though they have tears in their eyes.  Stay away from those who hold their heads high because they’ve never shed a tear.

 

True warriors of light don’t confuse arrogance and authority, joy and superficiality, persistence and impatience.  They have their doubts and at times feel oppressed by loneliness, but know many think like they do and it’s just a matter of time until they find true allies.

This coming Tuesday, Nov. 6th "The Natural Theology of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness" with Steve McIntosh 7-9 pm (not 6-8 pm as previously announced) @ Boulder Center for Integral Living 2819 Broadway (NW corner of Broadway & Balsam) Boulder, CO 80304   Dear Friends, This is an invitation to another wonderful event, sponsored by Boulder Center for Integral Living. It will be the second time that author Steve McIntosh returns to BCIL with his knowledge on matters of integral consciousness.  Also see below for information on a Spiral Dynamics workshop that will be taught by Ross Hostetter, and pictures from our recent event with Robert Masters and Diane Bardwell.  To give you an idea, the presentation by Steve McIntosh describes how the values known as the beautiful, the true, and the good play a central role in the evolution of the universe, serving as attractors of evolutionary development that pull evolution forward from the inside through their influence on consciousness.   As Steve says, "this ancient and venerable triad of values can be expansively understood as descriptions of the actual directions of evolution in nature, self, and culture.  Understanding where evolution is headed is, of course, a central inquiry for a philosophy that defines itself in evolutionary terms.  But questions about of the directions of evolution's unfolding are not just relevant to integral philosophers; properly understood, these questions relate to every situation in which the need for improvement can be recognized.  And as it now becomes increasingly necessary for humanity to participate in guiding cultural evolution toward a more positive future, knowledge of evolution's essential methods, techniques, and directions is of critical importance."  So folks, we hope that you will be able to join us for this wonderful evening.  Bring friends!  This presentation (free) will also include Q&A.    ~  Additional Events ~   Spiral Dynamics: A Theory that Explains Human Values - A Presentation by Ross Hostetter A series of 3 Mondays at the City Club in Boulder: November 12th: 6 - 8:30pm: The First Tier Value Systems December 17th: 6 - 8:30pm: The Integral Vision January 7th: 12:30 - 2pm: Lunch & Discussion Group with Ross, led by Patricia Albere Note from Ross Hostetter "Come join me for a few hours of fun, good food and intellectual stimulation as we experience an interactive multimedia presentation that sweeps through human history and introduces Spiral Dynamics, a theory that explains the development of human values.  Spiral Dynamics theory gives insights into the values that drive big systems: economies, cultures, religions, and warfare; and is also the most useful tool I've ever encountered in working with people.  It leads to an appreciation of the good in others who don't think as we do; predicts what they can do well, and provides a clear forewarning of their pathologies. "The model is also one of the primary foundations of the emerging Integral movement.  It provides a language that Integralists use on a daily basis to describe the evolution of moral growth through stages of consciousness, and is an important tool used in their efforts to see and create the next waves of human evolution.  After these presentations you will start to see humanity in spiral colors, and will wonder how you ever got along without this kind of map.  I hope you can join us!"  Evening presentations in the Grand Room of the beautiful City Club 885 Arapahoe Ave.  (NW corner Arapahoe and  9th in Boulder)  $ 25.00 for members and guests.  Includes gorgeous appetizer buffet, bottomless beverages and wine     *Ross is a new member of the City Club who has recently relocated to Boulder with his family after a 27 year career as lawyer in Texas, where he was one of the prime movers behind the attorney-mediation movement.  During his legal career he was hired to help resolve over 3,000 lawsuits, developed a national consulting practice, and was co-founder of a training academy that introduced over a thousand lawyers to the art of mediation.  He came to Boulder to become the first General Counsel of the Integral Institute, and is currently a coordinator of the Boulder Center for Integral Living.  Ross has a level 2 certification in Spiral Dynamics from Don Beck.    *   *   *

GIVING THANKS
NOV. 24
A FREE Mini Retreat Day
w/ Cheri Shanti

In Gratitude For the Boulder Community

Building Community Thru Gratitude!

Morning Gratitude Hike
Yoga
Meditation
Potluck
Music
Open Mic Sharing Session
Drumming, Dancing & More

Events ongoing from 1 PM-1 AM
Mandala Community Center
2516 Broadway

See  www.rhythmharvest.com for Full Schedule of Events
For more info:  720-234-0921/ cheri(at)rhythmharvest.com
*Please bring food/beverages to share for the potluck, your own plate & utensils, yoga mats, instruments, songs, and your grateful hearts.

*Donations to help cover expenses for Mandala & Cheri will be gratefully accepted, but ARE NOT required.  Suggested donation:  $20-40.

*VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED & GREATLY APPRECIATED.