Dear <subscriber>,
Robert has invited me to write this edition of CI News. I took Bright Future Now almost a year ago and it’s profoundly informed my work as an educator and researcher. It’s been so rewarding to find ways to contribute to the next chapter of Context Institute.
New Short Video
Thrilled to announce a new, short video where you can see network members share their experiences of Bright Future Now. We kept getting requests for a brief video capturing what this experience is all about. In it you will meet people from all over the world and all walks of change:
- Heather Johnson, Whidbey Island, Washington, US – Nonprofit Director
- Kai Garrels, Frankfurt, Germany – Electrical Engineer
- Joris Blankers, Utrecht, The Netherlands – Social Entrepreneur
- Santhan Naidoo, South Africa – Web Entrepreneur
- Mitra Martin, Los Angeles, US – Researcher and Educator
- Spring Cheng, Seattle, Washington, US – Founder & Educator
- Olivia Idelfonso, Brooklyn, NY, US – Social Justice Researcher/Activist
- Daniel Greenberg, Ecovillage Educator & Sustainability Entrepreneur
Joris, Santhan and I are all members of the Organizational Development team that Robert mentioned in the last CI News, where we are laying the groundwork for Context Institute to grow into a sustainable multi-person organization.
Our intent is that this video helps more planetary-era-ready people discover this course and access the support and resources it offers! We invite you to share this video with anyone you think may resonate. The next course begins April 7th, and the deadline for registration is Saturday, March 24th – now is a great time to spread awareness!
What are Generative Alliances?
A wedding ring. This was the image that greeted participants in Bright Future Network’s most well attended Salon in 2018, facilitated by network member FireHawk Hulin. This was the second Salon on the topic of generative alliances, a meme that has been the subject of many conversations within and throughout the network over the past several months.
Generative alliances are, in the words of network member Bill Veltrop, an approach to multiplying our capacity to make a lasting contribution. Allies hold an intent to support one another in realizing many potentials within and around each of them, over a long-term time horizon. Like a marriage, they kindle a sense of the sacred commitment.
Witnessing such an alliance unfold before our eyes has been a curious and extraordinary dimension of being a member of BFN. Over the past months, Robert Gilman, Founder of Context Institute, and Bill have shared with us their journey into such an alliance with one another.
We’ve all learned more about the conditions that support the emergence of alliances, and discovered how we may be able to activate these in our own lives and, increasingly, within the Bright Future Network.
Planetary Era Book Review:
Against the Grain by James C. Scott
For your planetary-era reading list, I was riveted by James C. Scott’s “Against The Grain: A Deep History of the Early States.” It offers a fresh narrative of the role of states in human history, especially at the dawn of the empire era. It shows in incredible detail the context in which they emerged, their frailty in comparison with other ways of life, and the effects they had on life. I appreciated both the deep scholarship and the author’s personal voice. Reading it was difficult because it brings you face to face with the depth of trauma humans have inflicted on one another, but seeing the whole picture in this way feels very liberating.
What are your favorite books that support context literacy and amplify planetary-era qualities? Email us here!
With appreciation,
Mitra Martin
March 6, 2018
