About three years ago I came across the second book by Robert A. Monroe, called Far Journeys.
It is an account of his out-of-body journeys over several decades, and the experience of others he has worked with in the Monroe research institute setup for the purpose of studying these astral travel phenomena.
One particular piece of wisdom which he recounts seems particularly relevant to us at this time:
The major underlying cause of human worry relates to the Law of Change. All human conflict relates to this law. Some worry that change will take place, others that it will not. Wars are fought to resist change or to accelerate it. At the individual level, this translates into various forms of indecision.
Most people think of surf when they think of Raglan.
Well read on…
Last night TT Raglan presented to the local Community Board on the subjects of Peak Oil and Transition Towns. The audience included the Raglan Community Board members, Deputy Mayor of Waikato District, Principal of Raglan Area School and about 80 members of the public of all ages and walks of life. We posted an invitation to the community via the local paper and more than half of the crowd was there solely for the presentation. Community Board Members were astounded at the number of people as they filed in.
We spent 10 minutes on oil offering a copy of The Transition Handbook to the first person that could find something in the room that did not rely on oil in any way for its presence in the room… needless to say I still have my copy of the Handbook. Then spent 20 minutes on Relocalization, TT and the myriad of possibilities and positive outcomes for our community. Toting TT as a global movement which is “inspiring, empowering and mobilizing WHOLE COMMUNITIES into action!” Also that we were very excited at the “… opportunity to turn paradise into utopia!”
All in all we had the room buzzing and this was the first public mention of TT in our community. Deputy Mayor was very supportive. We were approached afterwards by local radio for interview, the local paper will have TT as their feature story next week and a journalist from the Waikato times said there will be something in the Times before the end of this week!! We have set a first dedicated public TT gathering for the 27th of July.
We are stoked to be kicking up the dust in this neck of the woods!
I have had the pleasure of speaking with Susan Krumdieck on the phone, and appreciate her wisdom and approach to the challenges we face via her expertise in the broader discipline of engineering. Susan is making a profound contribution to the field of transition, so it was a delight to find this AEMS LAB website, where I discovered, amongst words like sustainability and transition engineering, this simple statement.
The Great Challenge for Change The defining moral issue of this time in history is how people will adjust their own expectations and demands in order to address global climate change, overpopulation, and peak oil. The greatest test of the character and adaptability of humanity will occur in the near future as societies re-discover and re-enforce the oldest and most fundamental rule of sustainable civilization; constraints exist.
Neighbours in several Auckland suburbs dream of living in greener, friendlier communities, reports Andrea Jutson As petrol prices surge to more than $2.12 a litre, groups of central-city Aucklanders are heading back to the past. Dianna Tawharu and Carolyn Cox of Westmere have started Grey Lynn 2030, one of several new groups aimed at turning inner suburbs into “transition towns’.
Waikato-based Green MP Nandor Tanczos will return to “grassroots” environmental work and do up his housebus when he leaves Parliament. Although a timeframe for his departure remained unclear this week, Mr Tanczos said he would be looking to get his “fingers in the dirt again” at home in Ngaruawahia when his political career ends…
…Mr Tanczos also identified a lack of national leadership on environmental issues, despite the efforts of his party, and described both National and Labour as “pretty much in denial” on issues such as climate change, peak oil and resource depletion, and their economic ramifications.
“The leadership is going to come from the community transition towns, communities setting up sustainable transport initiatives and increasing interest in things like permaculture design. So communities are doing it, and that’s really where I think my energies could be used.”
The Bay of Islands transition towns initiative got off to a roaring start last week with about 110 people packing the Wharepuke hall. It was clear there will be no shortage of people willing to climb on board the community campaign to become less wasteful and more economical. Kaitaia and Kohukohu are also making moves to join the transition town movement, which brings people together to explore how communities can respond to the twin challenges of climate change and peak oil…
All the Waiheke papers are featuring articles this week, on the partnership between Right House and Transition Waiheke, and urging people to fill in their Energy survey forms.
I am told the New Zealand Herald will be publishing a similar story in the Green pages on Monday.
Transition Nelson got front page coverage there this week, with a photo of Ted and his electric assist bike, which I did this story on him a while ago now.
From stuff.co.nz: “In April the Nelson Environment Centre received $152,000 from the Environment Ministry to support and develop Transition Nelson.
The Nelson group will be formally launched in September, but at its first public meeting, people had expressed an interest in food production.
Mr Howard said its meeting next Tuesday evening, therefore, would focus on opportunities to localise food again and produce it more sustainably.
The meeting would be of interest to people concerned about where their food came from, or those wanting to see more local food production.”
And back on Waiheke: Sue Kedgley from the Green Party came over last night to speak about food security in the face of global challenges, under the title: “Food prices going up and Quality going down.”
In her first sentence she referred to Transition Towns and after the talk, kept coming back to this community led model, over and over again.
I was deeply moved by this wonderful oratory and all it contained. In his valedictory speech to the NZ parliament Nandor left us with a prophetic message, and in no uncertain terms. I believe that in times to come we will look at his farewell speech as insightful and inspirational. I was delighted to hear Transition Towns mentioned as one of several grass roots community-led intiatives he honoured when talking about where the change is coming from.
Here is the full speech on video.
One of the first things Nandor Tanczos did when he entered Parliament was buy a watch. The last thing he did before leaving was to take it off, place it on his desk - and smash it to pieces with a mallet.
Because when I look at the state of our rivers, our atmosphere and our people, I don’t need a watch to tell me what time it is,” the departing Green MP shouted, as the handcuff that had chained him to the system shattered across the chamber.
A friend, who I value as an aware and compassionate soul, sent me this article from www.sentienttimes.com
I’ve finally figured it out. I am not overwhelmed, de-pressed, confused, or bewildered by our world gone mad. I’m ready. I’m past ready.
I just want to go for it.
Why can’t we have a nation—why can’t we have a world we’re proud of? Why can’t we stop wringing our hands over poverty, hunger, species decimation, genocide, and death from curable disease that we know is all needless? The truth is there is no reason we can’t.
They say—whoever the “they” are—that as we age, we mellow.
I don’t think so. I’m getting less and less patient.
Why? Because I realize that humanity has no excuses anymore. In the span of my own lifetime, both historical evidence and breakthroughs in knowledge have wiped out all our excuses. We know that we know how to end this needless suffering, and we have all the resources to do it. From sociology and anthropology to economics, from education and ecology to systems analysis … the evidence is in. We know what works.
Actually it’s not the first public orchard on Waiheke, but it is the probably the first which has been designed to have such a wide range of fruit and nut trees planted. This fun 2 minute clip (a big thanks to www.waiheke.tv) shows the energy behind the Fabulous Fruit Tree initiative, which has the vision for Waiheke becoming the Fruit Bowl of the Hauraki Gulf, and has set a target of 20,000 fruit and nut trees planted on public and private land over the next 10 years.
Hear volunteers singing as they lay down cardboard and mulch to suppress the aggressive Kikuyu grass on the property (the old Surfdale Post Office). Interviews are snappy and to the point, and the last one is with Roberto Perez, taken while he was visiting Waiheke in March.
Planting of 35 species of trees will begin at the beginning of August.
I was impressed when I first came across Chris Jordan’s art works showing us an arresting view of what Western culture looks like. His supersized images picture some almost unimaginable statistics. In this video Chris offers some insights into why he did this and what he hoped to achieve, as well as sharing some more of his amazing and mind expanding art.
I wonder how Chris might offer a visual representation of the amount of oil we consume each day? I understand that 84 million barrels is the equivalent of an Olympic-sized swimming pool full every 12 seconds (or 5 polls full every minute)!
The Transition Network Aotearoa is growing so fast I need an assistant(1). With the recent published articles in Sunday Star Times and Good magazine, and with the forthcoming TV exposure on Close Up, I can only see the need increasing.
I would like to work with someone who can commit to building up to consistently offering 20 hours a week, after two to three weeks in the role. I want to pay for this service with donated funds. Donated funds have totalled approximately $10,000(2) since I began this work in October last year, and they have slowed down the outflow from my personal savings. However, I expect that significant funds will soon be forthcoming. So to be clear, this is an unpaid role until funds are forthcoming.
I need to work with someone who is passionate about the Transition model and its place in supporting and enabling a relatively smooth transition from oil dependency to local resilience.
Here is a quick outline of the work I would like help with…
About three years ago I came across the second book by Robert A. Monroe, called Far Journeys.
Most people think of surf when they think of Raglan.
All the Waiheke papers are featuring articles this week, on the partnership between Right House and 
Mr Howard said its meeting next Tuesday evening, therefore, would focus on opportunities to localise food again and produce it more sustainably.
One of the first things Nandor Tanczos did when he entered Parliament was buy a watch. The last thing he did before leaving was to take it off, place it on his desk - and smash it to pieces with a mallet.
They say—whoever the “they” are—that as we age, we mellow.
The 