Lorna Li | Green Marketing 2.0

One of my favorite places in the Bay Area is community of ecological, sociological, technological, and cultural activists called Solstice Grove. Founded by Jim Fournier, eco-visionary and founder of Planetwork and Biomass Energy & Carbon, Solstice Grove consists of a main community house, swimming pool and several yurts and a redwood grove on several acres of gorgeous land in the community of Nicasio in the Marin Headlands.

Solstice Grove holds a number of sweat lodges, sacred ceremonies and community events, such as the Bioneers After Party, throughout the Year. The Dalai Lama has even visited and blessed the community. Solstice Grove is known for their fabulously fun parties on the Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice, another reason why Solstice Grove is dear to my heart - the Winter Solstice is my birthday.

I had the privilege of spending a weekend there for a sacred music gathering a few weeks ago. I met MJ Greenmountain of Hamsa Lila, and Mariela de la Paz, one of my favorite visionary artists, next to Pablo Amaringo.

The music was incredible, and people were lovely, and I was again reminded of how much I enjoy living in the Bay Area.

Technorati Tags: Solstice Grove, Jim Fournier, Mariela de la Pa, MJ Greenmountain, Hamsa Lila, eco-community, Pablo Amaringo

Last night I was over at a friend’s house and we got into a discussion on one of my favorite topics, “What is reality?”

I encounter a lot of people in the West who have an adamantly, unquestioned belief in certain theories of existence, be it scientific or economic that have really only emerged in Western civilizations within the last 2-300 years. Rationalism, however, is mere blip in in the timeline of human existence on this planet.

Having travelled extensively around the world, I have found that the definition of reality and an individual’s relationship to it varies quite drastically from culture to culture. In Brazil, and many other countries, people wholeheartedly accept and believe in the existence of non-embodied deities, spirits and entities. I know an elderly Ecuadorian shaman, who routinely transforms himself into an 10 foot long anaconda - according to numerous members of his extensive household. Though I have not witnessed this phenomenon with my own eyes, it is a little more my style accept that it is out of my experience that than vehemently insist that physical transformation into another organism is impossible.

The Assumptions of Capitalist Economics

One of the most commonly unquestioned assumptions that I encountered in university and again in graduate school is that of the “truth” or “reality” if you will of capitalist economics, as defined by Adam Smith in the “Wealth of Nations“. The existence of an “invisible hand” that will perpetually adjust prices to a point of equilibrium between supply and demand. The supremacy of free trade economics and the inherent goodness of consumption-fueled, growth-oriented economies.

Bollocks.

While a lot of this rhetoric seems to pervade the political arena, and our educational (more…)

I’ve been learning a lot about professional and personal relationships these days, and continually trying to reassess my approach to others. A relationship is much like a dance between 2 individuals, which involves grace, balance and counterbalance, exploring boundaries, occassionally stepping on toes, trying to guess the other person’s next step. Ideally, it’s an experience that 2 or more indivuduals co-create, ideally in a mutually enriching, enjoyable, safe, and positive manner.

I’ve certainly stumbled in relationships, and regrettably, a few are beyond repair. It’s these blunders that have caused me to reflect upon what works, what should be avoided, and from what place should one approach dealing with others. I’ve noticed some distinct differences in the way relationships are conducted in the business world as opposed to the nonprofit world. While it would be simplistic for me to state that relationships are more genuine in one world over the other, I’ve certainly noticed some recurring themes in the nonprofit world that I would like comment on.

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