No diff available--this is the first major revision. (no other diffs)
We are all on a spiritual path whether knowingly or unknowingly and sometimes even seemingly annoyingly. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I've been unemployed for nearly a year. It has given me time to read, study, meet a lot of new people and discuss new ideas. It's also given me the opportunity to really trust the universe to provide. I've gotten involved with Sustainable Edmonds (Treasurer on the Board) and now somewhat with SCALLOPS (Sustainable Communities All Over Puget Sound). I support M. McLuhan?'s thinking that "There are no passengers on spaceship earth, we are all crew." The time off has also given me a chance to polish a novel I started nearly 30 years ago. I wrote it because I wasn't finding the kind of book I wanted to read that would also be an inspiration to others. It's a story about a planet undergoing an environmental crisis as the weather has changed, bringing warming temperatures, melting the polar caps and glaciers and making the oceans too wild for a spiritual culture to remain upon. Spirituality permeates the story in a clash of cultures as all migrate to the mountains, where the last remaining water still exists. It is a story of personal and societal transformation, where all must learn to be and work together in order to survive. (Hmm, a planetary experiment in self-organizing?) A spiritual, visionary, speculative, science fiction, fantasy, sort of and more. I've had a few discussions with a very small local publisher who loves it.

Tell us about a meaningful experience you have had with self-organizing and/or ways you are engaging with new forms of leadership and organization.: Back in the 70's, I helped start a spiritual commune in Wallingford with members from diverse spiritual backgrounds, called The Growing Family. We melded into leaderless group with the desire "to be of use." We became a focus for inspiration and developed a strong community presence with potlucks, classes and regular lectures and discussions.

When you think about leadership in a self-organizing world, what questions are cooking you? What do you hope to learn at this gathering?: Self-organizing leadership is a strong, all-inclusive responsive participation for those taking ownership of a goal by choice, not compulsion. How sweet is that? The ability to be clearly, helpfully, powerfully spontaneous at the moment of need or desired action without a second thought. I am interested in a more in-depth understanding of self-organizing leadership and how to better communicate and expand its use. And I hope to absorb and integrate the expression and inspiration of committed spirits.