Theartofchangemaking - concept by Denkbeeldhouwer

THE ART OF CHANGE-MAKING

CONNECTING I

EXPLORING

THE POWER TO FLOWER We are living in tremendous times. We are collectively stepping out of automated procedures, into a more natural way of offering our own personal values and talents to the world. The Power to Flower can help you. It’s a natural, organic way to bloom based on Gandhi’s quote: Your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny. The Art of Changemaking brings you closer to ‘Be the Change you want to see in the World’. I’m sure you know where that quote came from. In this chapter we’ll look through the lense of ‘the Power to Flower’ in order to create some structure in chaos.

Thoughts “When we dream alone it is only a dream, but when many dream together it is the beginning of a new reality.” ~ Friedrich Hundertwasser

Destiny

You’re invited, yes you, to share your dreams @ the Art of Changemaking and make ‘a dent in the universe’ together. The first days will be focused on connecting thoughts.

We’ll find the words that define our ambition, we’ll pin them down and we’ll shout them out. We’ll find the title for your hero’s quest. We’ll tell the whole world what we’re aiming at.

Looking back on your own and your fellow changemaker’s learning’s, you will have gotten a clearer picture of your destiny. Maybe it’s because you made some steps in the right direction, maybe because your vision of our world just became sharper.

Actions

Values The future belongs to those of us, still willing to get their hands dirty. During our 10 days program we hope you’ll sometimes fall deep, only to be able to rise proudly after :-) We’ll reach out for you, whenever you call.

Words

Habits Change comes from within, and often in very small actions, cleverly repeated, just to trick the big resistance to change. Those unexpected interventions during those 10 days? We’ll be doing that quite often, just to shake things up a bit.

Well now, here’s the deal. It’s all about action. So everything you’ll be learning in this 10-days changemaker’s program, you’ll be able to practice back home as well… knowing that you have the power of a whole changemaker community behind you.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle

GUIDO CROLLA @DENKBEELDHOUWER Curabitur egestas, ipsum vel adipiscing gravida, mi nibh rhoncus nulla, vehicula rutrum mi lectus ut libero. Nunc pretium, augue at sollicitudin condimentum, tellus turpis ullamcorper tellus, volutpat cursus nisi ligula ac massa. Curabitur non rutrum dui. Vestibulum id pretium nibh. Donec vel massa massa, eu tristique odio. Mauris eget mi sit amet velit iaculis tempor. Donec id nunc eget dui posuere imperdiet vitae ut velit. Maecenas sit amet metus nunc, a porta nunc. Suspendisse fermentum luctus lorem, at vulputate metus adipiscing et. Aliquam et eros libero, vel cursus lacus. Nullam vehicula turpis eget turpis pretium consequat id id dui. Morbi turpis sem, egestas et vulputate non, aliquam ac nunc.

CHANGE

BANK OF CHANGE

Unconditional Real Trust We trust you like no other bank does.

What if my bank would give me money when I am in need? And what if she will asks me to share when I have more than enough? So my talents and potentials would not leek into the drain! Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have room to work on what I am meant to be. To build our system that works from within our trust, freedom and human rights. Would this be the security our bank allows in these times of change?

The Bank of Change welcomes new clients who think they deserve money, offering them to take money without interests. Freedom, Change & Trust built on the idea of social justice are the core objectives of the UNCONDITIONAL REAL TRUST The only condition to take money from the bank is to agree to use the money to fulfil oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own potentials. Clients who think they do not deserve money just like this, such as people who have got enough money already are very welcome to add money to the trust. Additionally people are asked to reflect on their current monetary situation in order to challenge what we take for granted.

The Bank of Change – Unconditional Real Trust The Bank of Change is a ground shaking bank model that operates on the streets... In the motto of “Take Some Money if u Need it, Donate Money if u Can” the Bank of Change attempts to give people an idea about how an alternative money system could look like.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Talk About... What role is money playing in your life? What influence does money have on the decisions you make in your life?

Do you trust that people know what their needs are? How does it feel to receive money from the bank of change? How do u define needs?

Do you think you would deserve an unconditional basic income, a certain amount of money that is guaranteed monthly by the state? Which emotions do you relate to money?

How do people decide what they need? Who decides what needs are? How do you feel and experience needs?

What values does money have in your life? What would you do with your life if money would not play a role? Can u imagine a society that is built on the spirit of gifting? Do you think economic growth can last forever?

http://bank-of-change.tumblr.com

What do you think of the bank of change?

bank-of-change@gmx.net 11

INFLATABLE SPACES Curabitur egestas, ipsum vel adipiscing gravida, mi nibh rhoncus nulla, vehicula rutrum mi lectus ut libero. Nunc pretium, augue at sollicitudin condimentum, tellus turpis ullamcorper tellus, volutpat cursus nisi ligula ac massa. Curabitur non rutrum dui. Vestibulum id pretium nibh. Donec vel massa massa, eu tristique odio. Mauris eget mi sit amet velit iaculis tempor. Donec id nunc eget dui posuere imperdiet vitae ut velit. Maecenas sit amet metus nunc, a porta nunc. Suspendisse fermentum luctus lorem, at vulputate metus adipiscing et. Aliquam et eros libero, vel cursus lacus. Nullam vehicula turpis eget turpis pretium consequat id id dui. Morbi turpis sem, egestas et vulputate non, aliquam ac nunc.

SILENCE, AOC13 EXAMS!

Punishment Exercise

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Repetitive actions lead to repetitive thoughts lead to repetitive actions lead to repetitive thoughts lead to repetitive actions lead to repetitive thoughts lead to repetitive actions lead to repetitive thoughts lead to repetitive actions lead to repetitive thoughts lead to repetitive actions lead to repetitive thoughts lead to repetitive actions. . . Anthony Kelly 21

THE GIFT

The Gift

Give me permission to look into your eyes for longer than is comfortable. Give me permission not to speak. Give me permission not to smile.

Give me the chance to show you my wounds. Give me the chance to tell you my fears. Give me the chance to whisper my secrets.

Let a tide of tears arise in my eyes to flow over into yours. And back again. Let me hold your faltering voice until it finds the wind. Let me be myself or someone else entirely.

Allow me to be wrong or not know the answer. Allow me to hear you say: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you are beautiful, wonderfulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Allow me to see that you have survived that which I fear most and still laugh.

Give me a cup of tea in my hand. A plate of croissants when the buffet is closed. A touch on the cheek. An apple. So that I can look into your eyes until it feels comfortable. So that I can hear you speak. So that I can feel ok when you are not smiling.

So that I can tend to your wounds. So that I can share your fears. So that I can keep your secrets.

So that I can let a tide of tears arise in your eyes to flow over into mine. And back again. So that I can hold my faltering voice until it finds the wind. So that I can let myself be myself or someone else entirely.

So that I can let you be wrong or not know the answer. So that I can say to you: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you are beautiful, wonderfulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. So that I can survive that which I fear most and still laugh.

So I can give you a cup of tea in your hand. A plate of croissants when the buffet is closed. A touch on the cheek. An apple.

The Gift Astrid Walsh

THE ART OF CHANGEMAKING AND NOT FALLING OVER Changemaking is hard work. The world is rife with injustices and problems we want to solve. There’s climate change, poverty, food shortages, endless wars, social exclusion, gender inequality.....the list goes on and on. Once you start paying attention to what’s happening in the world, it’s difficult not to feel overwhelmed with it all. And yet we are not ready to resign, and walk away with heads hanging. So how do we “be the change we want to see in the world” and keep ourselves motivated, happy and well? How do we avoid the “burn-out” that so many in this sector, and of course in many others, speak so often of? How do we find the energy to do the changemaking, when we have our own personal challenges and obstacles to overcome or endure? The Art of Changemaking programme, which took place in Cork from April 5. 28

Some insights. The term “changemaking” is of course not a simple one. What do we mean by change? What do we mean by changemaking? What are we trying to change? Is change for the sake of change good enough? I can say that I see changemaking, as that drive to right the wrongs of the world, and to have a vision of what that new world might be or at least how it would feel. It can be a process of challenging and provoking people to look at the day-to-day in a new way. It can be an offer of an alternative way of being together on this planet. It can be a process of creating space for new things to emerge, without knowing what that might be. Whether it’s about local community issues or global inequalities, it can be a declaration that this is not the only way. In many of our societies, we tend to believe that change comes from the policy makers, the politicians, those that we deem as influential (often because of their position or income). The change-makers in this context however, are the community activists, the strikers on the picketline, the artists who prompt us to ask questions about our own assumptions, those working in the non-profit sector (though sadly, not nearly as many as I would like to believe), the volunteers, the parents, the educators, the social entrepreneurs. They are the people driven by passion, an inherent sense of outrage at the injustices in the world, the ability to not accept everything as it’s presented and to ask questions. As such they are also the people who

Who’s picture is this? Why, how, what?

can end up living their “work”, pouring their emotional energy into everything they do, spending endless hours on projects and initiatives, committing themselves to a seemingly endless set of issues and areas for change. And it is that boundless energy, passion and community which is at the same time the greatest gift and greatest burden for the changemakers. When we feel a strong sense of injustice or alarm or emotional distress for those who are beyond our immediate circle, we are connecting to a wider sense of self, and experiencing our interconnectedness with the living system that is planet earth. And yet in contradiction to that, we are living in societies (at least in large parts of the Global North) which do not allow this sense of interconnectedness to flourish. Family is eroded by urbanisation and the need to migrate for economic reasons. The interconnectedness of communities is eroded by the invasion of large multinational supermarkets, the daily commute to big towns, individual living compartments and our means of transport. The changemakers therefore lack the sense of community and connectedness which should sustain us, meaning we are more likely to feel isolated, to lack support and resources, or to lose our sense of identity in the “work” we do. Throw this in with the overwhelming nature of the task at hand, the sense of disconnectedness that many of us feel regarding the political system and the lack of resources typically available for this area. Welcome to the burn-out. During the Art of Changemaking a section of the group accepted an invitation to spend two full programme days exploring the heart of this conflict through a group therapeutic process. Going through this kind of process, and in particular, with a group of changemakers who have shared stories of struggle and endurance when trying to walk a different path, has allowed me to experience the extraordinary strength to be gained from a sense of interconnectedness. Our stories and our pain, our limitations and our fears, overlapped and wove together throughout, allowing us to share and support, to cry and to laugh, to hold and to be held. The space created, the stories shared, the personal transformations experienced, all added a weight and value to the experience of this process which is rarely encountered in other trainings or pro-

grammes. For many of us it gave us the chance to lay down our masks, to reveal our true selves to a close community of activists, and in doing so, to discover that it is in within our vulnerability that our strength lies. When we share our vulnerabilities and expose our fears and weaknesses in such a way, we embrace what it means to be truly human, we connect to one another, and we acknowledge the shared struggle that we are all encountering personally and collectively. This further allows us to discover and connect to that community we so need to sustain ourselves, to understand our own boundaries and limits in the work to do, to understand our own place as part of a whole. This allows us to care for one another in the work we do, enter a space of noncompetitive collaboration, to maintain our motivation to act for our communities and our environment, and to develop a new perspective related to our place within a wider system which sustains and supports us. The experience in Cork, moving from the starting point which was still hovering on the surface of our experiences (what we do, where we work, where we come from), then into the unknown and the realm of chaos (what is the programme, what are we going to do), then diving deep into our own personal experiences and assumptions (what am I coming from, what am I carrying now), and finally emerging into a new reality of shared experiences, new perspectives and new realities was an impressive achievement for a 12-day programme with 40 strangers in a room, and a very brave approach to a shared learning experience.

ENLIVENED BEING My attraction to 'change making' was in the context of social change, change that often seems to be 'out there' in the world. However the more I go on to try and understand change the more I !nd it to be about 'in here' things, within our minds, hearts, perceptions and understandings. I have been involved in social change of one sort or another for most of my life. I grew up in a family active in the campaign for nuclear disarmament, in left wing politics and in local community activism, and I suppose this helped inspire me to be engaging in the challenge of this generation, possibly the largest challenge to social change there has ever been, climate change!

I have been engaged in changing behaviour in relation to the climate change, the environment and the earth for a long time. Making changes in my own behaviour, in community sustainability projects and in practical approaches to the nuts and bolts of greening our society. And I have also taken more activist and direct action approaches to 'making change' happen in anti-roads, anti GMO, and anti capitalist protest movements. One approach is saying YES to a certain kind of change and one is saying NO to another. So why am I telling you all this? why is it relevant to the art of change making? My passion for engaging in the challenges of our time, for me, is all rooted in the level of disconnection our modern lifestyle has brought us from the way we have lived for our vast history of evolution in close relationship to the ecosystems of the planet. Crucially now, this disconnection from the natural systems of the earth, has brought us climate change, the ultimate consequence of our inability to change when change is needed. And so what change is actually needed? Why is it that we are unable to 'make' change happen when it so clearly needs to? Why do we keep on "ying around the world in high carbon polluting planes, sometimes even to go to 'eco' and social change events? Why do we keep pumping carbon into the air when we know that it is destroying the stability of our global ecosystem, warming our climate, melting the ice caps, driving a mass extinction of species and putting the wellbeing of future generations, our very offspring we all love so dearly so insanely at risk?

And so here I !nd why it is I am excited to have been a part of 'the art of change making'. There is much more to change than meets the eye, but eyes are involved, for it is how we see ourselves and our world, our perception, that drives our way of acting in it. If we are not acting in ways that the earth supports, then there must be something wrong with our understanding of it. David Abram, a cultural ecologist, philosopher and performance artist, writes of there being a 'crisis in perception' at the heart of our ecological crisis. Here we can see a connection between the 'outer' issues of the world and our 'inner' states of mind, a link that social sculpture (I am investigating all this as part of my MA in Social Sculpture in Oxford) draws in in its emphasis on the importance of connecting 'inner work' to 'outer work', and its understanding that 'external crises are opportunities for consciousness'. During our 12 days together, there was a good deal of focus on 'inner work', on personal stuff and on intimate processes which at first glance may seem like a distraction from tackling the nuts and bolts of the problems 'out there in the world', but on closer investigation we can come to understand their relevance.

These kind of challenging words can often seem angry, desperate, irate, and quite the turn off from wanting to actually consider any kind of change. And although I feel a great urgency for change, in so many ways, but particularly in response to climate change, my enquiries into how to help bring about these very changes have taken me in new directions, it is not enough to be angry and take the NO approaches to social change I mentioned earlier, and it is also not enough to be saying YES to the practical stuff. Change is much deeper and much more complicated than this and involves a much more considered approach. 32

The german philosopher Goethe felt we needed to develop 'new organs of perception' to enable us to cultivate a holistic understanding upon which to base our choices, and revealed a way of enquiring into why we have these problems in the first place which if followed through brings a deeper understanding of our situation. Wolfgang Zumdick (2011) of the Social Sculpture Research Unit, reflects on this and writes of our "need to learn ways to attend more deeply,... because only this way can we stay in contact with things", and considering our disconnected world goes on, "once we are more and more able to listen to things, then something else occurs that we could call inspiration.... we encounter something and we make a close, genuine, warm connection to it. This 'warm' connection brings us together in a mysterious way. Now we feel closely connected to something, that prior to this, seemed 'other', seemed separate from us." This is where Social Sculpture, in offering ways to connect more deeply with our world, becomes a key tool for creating an ecologically viable future. It talks of a state of 'enlivened being', of everyone being an artist, a potential agent of change, and at the core of all this is our sense of connection to experience, to ourselves, each other and the world. In being connected, we have a different understanding, we have cultivated new organs of perception and this motivates us to act. Zumdick again; "this experience of connection, of identification creates an inner glow, an inner energy... inspiration. This is also the turning point from being outside something, to it living in us. We no longer stand apart and 'interpret' things. Now each thing speaks to us, reveals itself. No more are we interpreters but carriers of something we encounter."

Connecting to our world is fundamental to our response to 'out there' problems such as the ecological crisis, but there is more here. The ecological crisis is a long developed symptom of our separation from nature, but also of our separation from life and experience itself. This has many roots in the 17th century dualistic Cartesian paradigm that fragments everything into parts and still dominates the world today. In connecting 'inner' work to 'outer' problems, a challenge is made to this paradigm. These may seem spurious links to draw, but for me, our 12 days together were such a rich and fertile time for focused attention on change making. When do we ever have this much supported time and space to really reflect on what we are doing in our engagement with the world. In the 12 days, nothing was wasted, every experiment and conversation, every drink and meal, every dialogue, every light chat was relevant in aiding our understanding. The trouble is we only just got started! We need more time for all this kind of thing, real dedicated time to work and learn and live together in pursuit of high ideals. We need to !nd a way to understand ourselves properly, in the face of a crazy and complex, disconnected world. But something did start to rise in us, there was an aliveness to the group mind that was born in us and the connections built are now permanent and growing already. I am fascinated to see what it is that wants to come alive in our understanding through all our interactions and 'coincidences'. As Susanne said "there is no such thing as coincidence", and the art of change making was rich in coincidences. I have to finish as I have to get up at 5am to work. Thank you so much for hosting the art of change making I look forward to the next meet up very very soon!

Darren Sutton 34

NAAMLOOS Curabitur egestas, ipsum vel adipiscing gravida, mi nibh rhoncus nulla, vehicula rutrum mi lectus ut libero. Nunc pretium, augue at sollicitudin condimentum, tellus turpis ullamcorper tellus, volutpat cursus nisi ligula ac massa. Curabitur non rutrum dui. Vestibulum id pretium nibh. Donec vel massa massa, eu tristique odio. Mauris eget mi sit amet velit iaculis tempor. Donec id nunc eget dui posuere imperdiet vitae ut velit. Maecenas sit amet metus nunc, a porta nunc. Suspendisse fermentum luctus lorem, at vulputate metus adipiscing et. Aliquam et eros libero, vel cursus lacus. Nullam vehicula turpis eget turpis pretium consequat id id dui. Morbi turpis sem, egestas et vulputate non, aliquam ac nunc. 35

INTO THE GREAT BORE

WORKSHOPS

Stephanie Hobmeier - Susanne Bosch

WORLD-CAFE “In a way I felt honored that my thoughts and ideas were implemented in the program. To facilitate the “World Café” was one of my highlights even it meant a bit a challenge. But this is what I love so much about it. You never know how things work out and that you have to adapt to the situation and make the best out of it! To feel save in the unknown. For that there was the right atmosphere which is often missing in normal education programs… Not to repeat what is given you. Having the freedom to make your own out of it find your own way to move forward!” Stephanie Hobmeier

Five leading questions in the World-Cafe

How can a change-maker maintain health of body, mind and spirit? Balance - Touch:physical, emotional, Spiritual and intellectual - Ask- GIve and receive - Play Space - Feed body and soul - Love

How can a change-maker sustain their progress as change-makers? Get organised, Build networks, relationships, share responsibility - Be self aware- Know your limits, talents etc. - Take care of yourself - Be balanced- perpetual movement between the self and the collective - Acknowledge small achievements - Have patience and perseverance - Foster positive attributes - Be life-long learner and unlearner - Nurture playfulness - Engage in discussion, adaption, agreement, not just tal - Be ecological and have awareness about sustainability

How can change-maker ignite/channel and navigate their passions? Take actions - learn by testing - Channel the energy and the passions - Fine tune/ adjust - invest in relationships, friends and networks - Look after your basic needs- food, sleep and comfort Nurture your soul - Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget about yourself - Trust yourself - Be in the flow - Sex

What values should a change-maker nurture? Connectedness - Love - Integrity - respect - Attraction - To act from the heart - Humor - Self sacrifice - Compassion - Empathy - Passion - Being with all the senses - Courage - Patience Chaos - Communication - Deep non-judgmental connectedness - Listening - Coming togetherSelf nurture - Guts to walk the edges - Freedom from social restraint - Freedom to do things differently - Freedom to be seen as a fool - Rebellion - Truth saying

How can a change-maker ignite passion and action in others? Inspire without using the word inspire

Susanne Bosch

TEAM BUILDING WORKSHOP What is it about? Through playing with each other and reflecting on the process we will achieve the following: - Arrival (emotional and physical) of the participants (participant) and getting to know each other - Creation of trust in an intercultural context - Creating the skills for thematic group work or teamwork - Focus communication, co-operation, team-work and civic society skills - Highlight and develop the value & skills of sustainability and coop-

eration vital to the success of your working groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s & the future projects - Intercultural awareness (INTERCULTURAL LEARNING) - Creativity - Team: phases, roles & teamwork (with awareness of different concepts & diversity) - Civic society skills - Networking skills

What is the process like?

What is the time and length?

1. Hands-on experience - Participate in activities that challenge the group to find solutions by working together - Apply teamwork, problem-solving, core competencies, skills, and strengths to complete the activities - Engage in hands-on learning

4h Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best size of the group? This workshop is possible with a minimum of 10 people and a maximum of 25 people.

2. Reflect on each activity - Discuss the experience and the group process - Discover the lessons learned from the activity - Identify strengths and skills contributed by each participant 3. Transfer learning to personal, educational and professional life - Relate lessons to thematic group work & real-life situations - Share relevant models for transferring the lessons - Develop practical guiding principles & action plans for implementing and sustaining new learning What is the experience going to be like? This workshop is based on peer learning, actual doing and joint reflection as well as discussion about the transfer of the experience. What do you learn? What (different) roles you play in teams, how you respond to situations, what skills and talents you have, how you experience other. Trust, communication, co-operation, team-work and civic society skills.

Jessica Carson

BELONG - VISUALIZING OUR INTERCONNECTED WORLD What is it about?

The experience will be a creative and reflective one.

Exploring and visualising the ways in which we are connected across the globe

What do you learn?

What is the process like?

Awareness of the levels of connection you/ we have to other parts of the world and how it may have implications in the choices we make.

The process with involve create a group visual graphic of our worldwide interconnections and reflecting on the significance of our interconnectedness. Reflecting on what implications there are for how we live in this world?

What is the time and length?

What is the experience going to be like?

This workshop is possible with 5-40 people

2 hours Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best size of the group?

DEFLECTIONS

REFLECTIONS ON OCCURENCES During the AOC I discovered how I moved from a long term in a quite passive state being more inside myself caused on recovering from a Burn Out to being active again feeling strong enough to take on tasks. I got the chance to just try without being afraid of failure. The environment which was created there gave me the safety to step up and use my gained knowledge and experience to create new, show myself to the world. More and more I had the feeling I could free myself from old layers which covered my true self and I saw others doing it, too. For me there was the atmosphere of full respect and appreciation of the others, to see each other truthfully! Magical is the right word for moments where you just have the feeling that you are in the right time at the right place with the right people. And these moments I had a lot!

Moreover I had a few precious moments where I was just as present as I could be. This means a lot to me as in normal daily life I have a hard time with it. What I also enjoyed a lot was to be part of designing the accreditation process. In a way I felt honored that my thoughts and ideas were implemented in the program. To facilitate the “World Café” was one of my highlights even it meant a bit a challenge. But this is what I love so much about it. You never know how things work out and that you have to adapt to the situation and make the best out of it! To feel save in the unknown. For that there was the right atmosphere which is often missing in normal education programs… Not to repeat what is given you. Having the freedom to make your own out of it find your own way to move forward! One of my highlights was also when I got inspired from the video “the Holstee manifesto” and had the idea of writing little important messages on post-its and spreading them in the city. It was special to see the people reacting on them. I love to play with words and messages and I plan to develop this idea further. For me it is very important to remember people what life is really about and make them conscious if they are still on their path. I made my way home full of inspiration and gratefulness to have made this experience and met this wonderful people. To listen to each other´s stories and mirror each other is one of the most precious gifts I got there. I can really say that I felt more myself again and full of energy and excitement to follow my path.

Stephanie Hobmeier

INSIDE LUDWIGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PRESSURE COOKER (dedicated to Gaspar) the golden thread

as you, unknowing, brought me into your labyrinth I found a thread from the tapestry I have woven in my mother's arm

Brigitta Varadi 95

JULIAN HERDEN

INTO THE GREAT BORE This next essay was written to be boring and entertaining, to raise questions and put people off all at the same time. It was born by the frustration of three people being bored and finding within the boredom new grounds for progress. In their case it resulted in an action painting and a performance with me reading the essay as a lot of boring crap. They asked me to write such an essay, that exposed their transgression through boredom into a new state of inspiration, when they actually made a work of art around their boredom and used it as an source of inspiration, rather than being defeated by it. More careful reading of this essay though might reveal amidst the noise some real questions and advises on how to deal with boredom and the shimmering silence that precedes the bearing of new fruits and how to recognize the difference between the two.

Floris Koot

INTO THE GREAT BORE The Secrets of the Sweet Existence

Introduction into meaningful boredom The Great Bore just is. It doesn't care for Bore. It doesn't need Bore. It doesn't work for Bore. It isn't bored by it. The Great Bore just is. And thus the great Bore is liberating and boring at the same time. The Bore is there waiting for us, to enter the zone of Boredom.

In many Asian villages men, women and children can sit for hours in front of their houses in silence. Just looking while time passes. We can't. We have lost our touch with the Great Bore. With it we have lost an essential way of being present and just be. The question is what exactly is that way? What did we lose and what is the price we pay for that loss? And if we want to regain it, how to go about it? Let us explore the essence, meaning and principles of the Great Bore, which lies at the heart of boredom. The history of boredom is one of growing loss. So when did the the Great Bore start to become boredom? And when did boredom become something bad? How and when did, most of, mankind and especially the West, lose with this loss an essential part of its heart? This we shall discover in this manifest.

In the earliest of days of mankind, when we started to value efficiency and industriousness the first possibility of boredom came into existence. Before that we had some time to spend. We used it to exchange stories by the fire. But with our valuing certain types of being more than others, our imagination of morality fired up and with it the losing of the Great Bore began. When our brains started to feed on input, and became addicted to it, the lack of input became the second level of possible bore. Today we seem to seek input all the time. Some moving tree in the wind is clearly not enough. No, on television, movies and now, thanks to our cell phones, also all the time on the street and in the train, some input is playing, or messages exchanged.

tinuous activity attitude. We became turmoil, we became storm. And like storms, we are raging blindly against any obstacle in our path, even our own nature. It is only a rare few beings, who in the eye of the storm find solace and wisdom, like the famous philosopher Nietzsche who once raved: ““He who fortifies himself completely against boredom fortifies himself against himself too. He will never drink the most powerful elixir from his own innermost spring.” And then, quite recently, when we were so overfed with impulses, messages and activity in largely a repetitive order we discovered a fourth level of boredom, loss of excitement about what we are doing. Boring jobs being the first to hit home as painful and damaging. But on top of that, even days full of shopping, travelling or new inner experiences can become boring. After a while any new country will seem the same, not because it is the same, but because we don't really look or take the time. And when discovery becomes repetition, discovery dies. And when discovery dies, our heart with it. This we often refuse to see, that the heart can die, no matter how busy we are. This last loss, can be called the greatest of losses. When we lose our heart and soul in what we are doing, it all becomes meaningless. And then we get a burn out. The state of burn out is not a state of Great Bore. It is a painful sad meagre being, that happened, because we lost touch with the great Bore. And as some say, a burn out can also become a spiritual awakening, a time to rediscover the Great Bore.

Then, when our convictions convinced us that continuous activity was needful and desired, we reached the third level of possible bore. Because of it we never sit still. Lives seemingly need to be lived like movies, like good adventures without any boring bits. And make no mistake, for many of those that seek to escape this continuous activity, their journeys to Zen monasteries, empty deserts or healing Spa's are adventures too. “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” is the most used Walt Whitman quote, thus firing up our con99

Still we don't fear burn out, we fear boredom. And thus in all our burning activity we get lost. For next to boredom, we fear pain. We fortify ourselves. And while seeking to escape pain and boredom and all other states that are not happiness, we deafen ourselves. And as soon as we are blind and deaf, caught in ongoing businesses and projects and activities and adventures and networking and quality time arranging and taking care, and organizing all the others, and taking holidays from it and.., then we become unable to enter the state of the Great Bore.

Instead, oh paradox, we get a lot of boredom anyhow. Our whole busy life has become boring. And no new adventures can, help us to regain our passion and sense of purpose or happiness. The only way out is to re-find and re-enter the state of Bore. To embrace the Great Bore is the key, for hidden in the Great Bore lies the salvation of each of us and the whole of mankind.

The Meaning of the Great Bore What is boring and what is Bore? That is the Question. What is being lost and what being found? That is not the question. Being Lost or Found does not matter to Bore. Being is Bore. Wanting is not Bore. Doing is not Bore. Not doing is not Bore. Bore and boredom lie next to each other. They are two faces of the same medal. And yet worlds apart. Thus Bore is. And we can be with it. Bore is there for us.

What we believe is, mainly, what has been told to us by others. They sell us their opinions, or help us to define our own experiences, in ways that align us to how we all should see our own society. Thus, when a society does not embrace, or even discards the Great Bore, its existence will not be mentioned or embraced. And our society does not embrace the Great Bore. Worse it fights it with all its might. It has blown it apart with noise, it has buried it deep under adventures and bustling industry, it has killed it with the search for happiness and meaning and it has hidden it from all or eyes into oblivion with story, media and messages full of exiting news. We not only rush over it, we forbid it. How often have you been asked: “Come on, shouldn't you be doing something?” This line is the similar to a farmer shouting at cows: “Come on, work harder. Transfer that grass into milk faster. Don't just lie there chewing around. And You! You already chewed that bit before.” 100

This attitude is rife in our society. Capitalistic managers are seeking to genetic recode these 'stupid' cows, so that they may act, much more, according to efficient expectations. Nature sucks it seems. It's complex and stupid and not helping us to produce faster, better and more profitable. We have gone as far as creating our own seasons in glass houses, where it is always summer. So our vegetables know no winter. We have done the same in our offices. We expect peak performance all the time. And the word peak already betrays it; peaks are not enduring. And that, my friends is the madness, that is the loss of the Great Bore has brought us. Meaning is often what we seek. Understanding is often what we feel we need, before we can move on. The Meaning of the Great Bore is that sometimes neither meaning, nor understanding, can help us move on. The meaning of the Great Bore is that our society is lost and blind and deaf and rotten and raving, raving mad. It's use is forgotten and we are worse for it.

The Essence of the Great Bore The Great Bore is always there. It is willing to speak from silence and sing to us in emptiness. And it is willing to hit us hard, when nothing can touch us. The Bore thus can sing, speak, touch and act, by doing nothing. Nowhere can we hide for it. Nowhere can we run from it. Nowhere we can escape, as long as we want to escape. We can only embrace. We can only love it. We can long for it even. For the Great Bore is always waiting, for us to return to the fold. If you embrace the inside of boredom, it becomes magical.

It is in effect, we should realize, efficiency that has no meaning. For efficiency kills the spirit and does not acknowledge the nature of the cow and therefore not the nature of man. It is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;do something!â&#x20AC;? that is blind, for it does not see the seeds in the ground, not does it see the transformation of grass into milk. So we may seek meaning and understanding and control, yes soo much control, of outcomes that we kill the possibility of just that kind of meaning, with no meaning, we are looking for. For it is already there, right in front of us. That, my friends, is the meaning of the Great Bore.

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In order to understand the essence of the great Bore, we must understand that activity in itself is often but distraction. That purpose can be, quite well be as much, a flight route out of life, rather than into it. That grabbing does not mean getting, or even that when we get, we will find fulfilment. How do we know what lies within the Great Bore and what just within the realm of boredom? Being bored with our lives, our relationships, our activities does not yet mean, that we entered the realm of the Great Bore. No, we have just been touched by boredom. Our lives have become empty shells and devoid of meaning. Rather than fight and scream and change course in panic, seeking hard for a, any, way out, we should dig deeper into the Bore. The way out we try and try so hard upon, will fail, cannot anything else but fail, because in the action, we repeat ourselves with the same essence. The actions are just different. We truly need to alter our course, if we want to understand and learn from the Great Bore. Now, many would say, to enter the state of the Great Bore, we need to meditate. But the Great Bore is not silence, nor is it the sitting, seeking for nothingness that meditation often means to be. Or someone else might say the Great Bore is seeking inner peace, through acceptance and therapy. But the Great Bore is not about seeking, for there is nothing to be reached, nor should it accomplish anything. Being in the Great Bore is a state, that anyone can achieve here and now. And like Tao, the Great Bore that can be named, is not the Great Bore. We can only allow ourselves to sink into it. Let it happen upon us, let it be. Boredom as a resting place, where the deeper seeds or the new us, can grow as seeds in winter ground, laying dormant until spring happens. There is no forcing spring. There is no therapy needed, pushing us towards wishful answers; answers that give small gratifications of progress, and after that, only to discover that we sink back ever so often into the same old patterns. And thus the therapist is the only one to become a bit richer than before. Disregard the self help books, the methods and models. They only will tell you to push your inner spring forward. As if that was possible. Such an act

cannot be more than make up. Spring just happens, when we sit in the sun and rain and let it be. This is the Great Bore, and no more. Any religious leader, any guru or highly regarded trainer leading you as a priest(ess) of Bore, or any other subject for that matter, is a thief and lier. You know the way yourself, for the great Bore lies dormant within all of us, as sure as winter is coming. Let it come. It will do the inner cleansing, inner growing, all the necessary inner preparations for a new life that lies in waiting. And that bit of waiting, is all we need to do.

The Principles of the Great Bore She looks with blank eyes and an introvert smile. Hidden debts in a sea of sweet turmoil, as we read it. A not at all boring presence, She is the Goddess of Bore. She smiles upon the world. Don't disturb her, don't bother her. For you will be boring. Be still with her. Accept her as she is. Then the Great Bore will embrace you. How does this paradox work?

All that will be said here, cannot be more than a finger pointing to the moon, but not the moon itself. All advice can hint, but all of you, that just follow the hints will get lost. As following the hints of all manuals to life, cannot be more than hints. How can they be more? How can they ever be the path or experience itself. And so, to find the Great Bore we may enter any path and then we sit down. Why walk to get where we are? 102

Try to achieve and you will suffer said the Buddha. Try not to achieve and you will hunger said the manager. Try to to gain and thou shall lose. Try to lose and thou shall lose the Great Bore. How to gain the favour of the Goddess of Bore, when she doesn't want to be favoured? How not to bore her, when any action will just do that? How to not be boring, when any action to reach the Great Bore is boring too? You are lost my friends. You are in the woods seeking the trees. You are amidst of trees seeking the forest. You look to me for guidance, and the guidance is boring. Listening, or reading this, becomes boring, and in becoming boring the Bore is lost. Or listening and reading this you get fired up and in being inspired the Bore is lost. And those that find the Bore and try to stay within it, also to them the Bore will be destroyed and they will feel thrown out. For this, once again, is what the Bore is about. It is our inner re-grounding, re-finding, re-inspiring, re-balancing, re-resting that just happens. And when it happened, it is time to get up and get confused again. There is no other choice. You are alive and will move on. As does all nature moves on. Only by moving on can we return, for the Great Bore is the deepest point of our natural cycle. Thus we need to get active again. Thus we need to get confused again. If you are not confused, you cannot enter the Great Bore. And also, if you are confused, you cannot enter the Great Bore. If you are active, you cannot enter the Great Bore. And also, if you are not active, you cannot enter the Great Bore. Thus the Great Bore is always a riddle, that only is solved once we enter it, only for as long as we enter it. Then and always, at all other times as well, the Goddess of the Great Bore will smile upon you, for the Great Bore is always there, waiting for your return. Dark, sweet, smiling and alive. As alive as you. You both are real. You both are magic.

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Afterword Now for those that succeed in finding the Great Bore, don't expect recognition. Nothing is achieved. People will still call you lazy. How can you explain, what they can't perceive? You can't. The only thing you have is this text. And as soon as it becomes an excuse you're out of the Great Bore. You may indeed be a cheater and lazy bum, or a seeker of spiritual silence. So while you may have found the difference, you have nothing to lean upon. That is what the Great Bore is. It is nothing special, it is nothing different, it is nothing one can note and point out. It just is. And for the lack of it, many have suffered. And only they that suffer, have awareness of it and accept the suffering may understand. For only they may be open to seek, as you once did, the Great Bore. And perhaps then, perhaps with nothing more than a cup of coffee or tea, you can lead them into the Great Bore. For many that enter it, only understand afterward, when they lost it again. Still don't attempt to guide, don't seek to find tools such as coffee or tea, don't seek to help. Helping is leading astray, helping is creating gaps, helping is more damaging than just receive them into the ungraspable, unattainable and unreachable reality that always is. May the Great Bore smile upon you.

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I am in the Great Bore, because I am not. I let it go. Everything floats. I float. I am not bored. I am not boring. I am present in magic,

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REFLECTION FROM A DANCER’S PERSPECTIVE The Art of Change-Making:  A reflection from a dancer’s perspective

‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes’ ~ Marcel Proust

Minou Tsambika Polleros (AT/UK)

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Appreciation after the workshop in the park

What is change and transformation? What is the art in changemaking â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and how can I or we come closer to the many answers in only 12 days? The Art of ChangeMaking 2013 was an individual and collective journey into the known and unknown territories of sharing, of exploring, of learning, discovering and thinking about the world, us in it and what the art of change making is and can be. As dancer and movement practitioner, I was asked to facilitate movement sessions each morning. Together with Ludwig MĂśller from Moving School, I shaped the

first half and hour of each day with movement and meditation. Coming from a dance and choreography background, two terms that are very much boxed into their aesthetic categories, I have gotten used to referring to my practice as an explorative movement practice. Purpose of it is that I want to make movement and body related practices more accessible and recognized within the field of transformative and activist work. Movement and dance are not exclusive to creative professionals only â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are part of vivid human

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expression around the world, in both culture specific and contemporary contexts. When involved in a program where change and transformation is the main agenda – the question arises of how do we think, talk, explore, communicate and share our questions, inquiries and our insights? Isn’t it partly because the human world is based upon systems that practice fragmented, short sighted and ignorant capitalist agendas – that we came together in Cork to discuss alternative ways of being and acting in this world – of making change? Change for me, a creative body practitioner has to happen in strong connection with the world we live in. It is an immense personal challenge – to ask where am I in this world and what can I do here? If I am not connected to the things happening around me, my actions cannot unfold their full potential, they will not relate fully, they will not be responsible and as effective. So, how are we developing a connective practice? How can we connect to the Zeitgeist, shape our actions accordingly and work towards an ecological sustainable future?

One way to connect:  To underpin my argument I quote Maurice Merleau Ponty the French philosopher who speaks of the connection between body and mind. He writes that it is via the body as our main sensing apparatus that we learn the world and our position in it. David Abram responds and states that thinking does not only happen in the brain, it is a process involving the whole of ourselves. Our Skin thinks, learns, and experiences the exterior in every moment. When it is cold my nervous system will tell me that I need to wrap up in order to stay warm, my eyes experience the world, my taste buds tell me if something is eatable or not. Learning is a process that involves all senses, all minds located in us. Thinking is not only rational it means being an attuned and enlivened human being to the world in conscious relation. I experience the world via my body and I am experienced by the world through it as well. It becomes apparent that the body is our main instrument by which we engage, act and respond and there is a mutual coexisting and reciprocal relationship between my interior and exterior world.  Emancipating my senses means to perceive 108

what is really around us. This might begin to shift my value systems, alter my decisions and I might begin to care more about my extended flesh, and take more responsibility in my actions in the world. Why am I writing all this? To emphasize that we are all sharing one common ground, and that transformation is a field in which no one is outside. It involves humans, animals, plants and the whole of our planet. And it is via our physical bodies that we experience these connections and via which we learn, act, react, thrive and via which we are conscious. It is therefore essential to me, that some sort of physical awareness exists in any setting where people engage with notions of change. Not as one specific artistic practice that only exists in a nutshell, but as parallel process, as a way of thinking, activating, meeting, connecting with the environment, with self and with others.

and with oneself. And how if not with our whole being, body, mind, intellect, soul, spirit and senses can we face these challenges? Thank you for letting me experience the colourful variety of your transformative practices.Thank you all for your immense passion, for your will, determi- nation, creativity, humour, authenticity, empathy, warmth, inspiration and for widening up the field in front of me.

Minou Tsambika Polleros

The movement sessions were based on different movement and dance practices, including Improvisation techniques, Release Technique, Experiential Anatomy, Alexander Technique, Contact Improvisation, different partnering exercises, Contemporary Technique and others. Besides physical fitness, we explored different allegories that if we think about them more deeply can be used in a ‘change maker’s vocabulary. We engaged with imaginative body journeys, with listening, tuning, responding, self initiative, duet work, flocking scores, Improvisation, giving and receiving weight, different kinds of touch, intuition and empathy work. All these were one of the many elements or tools used in the program that supported weaving the invisible fabric, the one that ultimately forms the fertile ground for collective thinking processes and collaborative actions.  What these Instruments are is a journey of discovery that we each have to pursue ourselves. However, it seems that in order to develop a practice in the context that suits our work best – we must become flexible movers fit enough to adjust and respond to the phenomenon of a constant evolving world. This requires a fine tuning, in my words – a -‘being in touch with’- the world 109

References: ABRAM, David. 1996. The Spell of the Sensuous. New York: Vintage Books.  HARTLEY, Linda. 1989. Wisdom of the Body Moving: An Introduction to Body-Mind Centering. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 19, 21.  HILLMAN, James. 2007. The thought of the heart and the soul of the world. Putnam: Spring Publications. KRAMER, Paula. 2012. ‘Bodies, Rivers, Rocks and Trees: Meeting agentic materiality incontemporary outdoor dance practices’. Performance Research. 17(4), 83- 91  KRESIN-PRICE, Nancy. 2012. Social Sculpture: New Eyes for the world. Racine: Nancy Kresin-Price. 5 LAVERY, Carl and WHITEHEAD, Simon. 2012. ‘Bringing It All Back Home: Towards an ecology of place’. Performance Research. 17 (4), 111 – 119  POSTILL, David. 2008. ’Maurice Merleau Ponty’. Dance your Life. [online]. Available at: http://www.danceyourlife.eu/sourcesofbiodanza/MauriceMerleauPonty.ht ml [accessed 17 April 2011].  TUFNELL, Miranda and CRICKMAY, Chris. 1990 Body Space Image: Notes towards improvisation and performance. Alton: Dance Books  SACKS, Shelley. 2010. Instruments of Consciousness. University of the Trees.  SACKS, Shelley. 2012. Earth Forum Berlin, Listening to each other, listening to the future. University Of the Trees DE and Citizen Art-Berlin.  SACKS, Shelley. 2007. Seeing the phenomenon and Imaginal thought: Trajectories for transformation in the work of Joseph Beuys and Rudolf Steiner. Melbourne: national Gallery.  WALLA, Nala. 2008. ‘The embodied activist: Where Permaculture Meets the Arts’. Contact Quarterly. Northhampton: 33 (2), 28 – 31  WEBER, Andreas. 2008 Alles Fühlt: Mensch, Natur und die Revolution der Lebenswissenschaften. Berlin: Berlin Verlag

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ART IS CHANGING Culture continuously tries to define “art”. The definition will change from person to person, year to year, location to location. I’ve been trying to define it. I believe art changes perspectives or changes emotions. It connects to humanity. It is change-making. There may be an “art” to change-making, but that’s too philosophically ironic for my present state of mind.

I challenged myself. I’m changing. Nan Mc Sweeney-Bailey

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I once defended an elitist opinion about “art”. That attitude kept me from comfortably calling myself an artist. I didn’t feel “good enough”, technically skilled enough to perform at a high-standard. The battle inside me to re-define this personal paradigm finally ceased. I’ve signed a peace treaty with my high-standards; agreeing to allow more spontaneity, more freedom, more trust. I changed my environment, and new people saturated me with genuine acceptance. Their compliments and encouragement are seeping through that thick crust and softening my critical voice. Ideas laid dormant inside me, weighing me down. I’ve made a shift in my acceptance of my talents, my culture and my motivation. Now, I’m oozing out art again, with more depth and passion.

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Bumble bee me at   the Art of Change-Making Rarely have I connected and trusted so quickly with so many diverse people. The total immersion into this deeply emotional, physical and intellectual experience, connecting with humans and humanity changed me. I’m buzzing purposefully again. Buzzing, hovering, busily exploring, being a bumble bee helped me blossom. While the group was experiencing the “power to flower”, I searched for my purpose. I engaged with so many projects and flew outside my comfort zone too. After a short rest from the hive (and my sinuses recovering from the excessive Irish pollen) I’m back on a solo flight. Sweet honey, I believe I’ve found a path! (OK, enough with the metaphors.) I’m busy moving into a new studio with my paints and computer. My new projects are developing my service design offering, organizing a Broadway musical revue at a community arts centre (with a small team including a corset-maker/costumer already inspired), and adding to my portfolio. Free hugs changed moods from routine to curious. A particular highlight of my experience, I joined the movement of spreading love and making human contact in a public space with free hugs. Cork received it well.

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I enjoyed making eye contact, noticing each individual soul and wishing them a good evening. Nearly every hug was returned with the same sentiment. Expressions changed; smiles spread; the mood on Grand Parade changed from routine to curious. I had some favorite hugs. Two hugs came from men who simultaneously rushed out of two separate cars stopped for a traffic light. A woman shouted excitedly into her mobile phone and then joyfully skipped to me for a hug. More people from our group grabbed a sign and joined me in the movement. For my last hug of the evening, I approached a very large, tall, darkskinned man who had been standing back, observing the activity from behind his dark sunglasses. When I approached him, I said he looked like someone who gave big hugs. His expression changed from “security guard” to “teddy bear”, and I did get a huge, warm hug. I invited him to join us as we moved to Rob’s inflatable space at Red Abbey. We shared the usual chit-chat, explaining the origins of our non-Cork accents. He was shocked that a white woman from Mississippi wanted to hug a large, black man! I guess I changed him that day, and his perception of a stereo-type. That’s art I’m proud of.

Nan Mc Sweeney-Bailey

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WE GET YOU A HOTEL ROOM, BUT PLEASE BRING A MACHETE! 10 phenomenological observations on the Art of Changemaking.

Susan Bosch

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