Navigator Stories

I first heard about David's work while attending an intensive led by Joanna Macy just prior to 9/11/01. Part of the intensive focused on the problems with corporate power and I was taken with the idea that we could do something to change our circumstances. Upon returning home I read both "When Corporations Rule the World" and "The Post Corporate World." Then I started organizing and facilitating the WILPF [Women's International League for Peace and Freedom] study groups called "Challenging Corporate Power: Asserting the Peoples rights."

History of Imago:  The Imago Earth Center started with a vision. The vision was that of an urban nature preserve, easily accessible to the people who needed it the most, the people who live in the city. This nature preserve would be a vital asset to a community of environmentally caring citizens. This nature preserve would provide opportunities for people to connect with and learn about the wonders of the natural world.

Aloha! I am sending a photo of the Hokule'a, the story-changing voyaging canoe of Hawai'i on her sail from Kahaka'aulana (Sand Island) on O'ahu to Waimanalo, on the Windward side of O'ahu and back, on December 23, 2006. This photo appears on the cover of the Office of Hawaiian Affair's 2006 Annual Report. The photos of Hokule'a are attributed to Ama Johnson and Monte Costa.

My name is Mike Ignatowski, and I work at a major computer firm projecting the future direction of technology developments. Lately I have been convinced that we are entering a fascinating period of significant change in both our technological capabilities and social structures. The consequences of which can be very beneficial, or very disruptive (or both), but they will likely be profound.

In 1998, about 100 community members from Madison, Wisconsin heard Torbjorn Lahti, the father of the eco-municipality movement in Sweden, speak about The Natural Step framework for sustainable community development. These citizens learned how communities large and small had gathered around a common framework, The Natural Step, to move towards social, environmental and economic sustainability. Enthusiastic, inspired, and motivated, these community members started a local movement of their own and called it Sustain Dane (for Dane County).

Many of the great social movements have tended to underplay or even deny a very important dimension of human life – the spiritual dimension. This deficit has limited the potential impact that all these movements could have. We are promoting a very different kind of movement – one giving central focus to a spiritual vision—to create a positive alternative to the political and religious Right, and to our society’s ethos of selfishness, materialism, and cynicism.

Cultivating Connections began as a grassroots effort in 1998 as a response to the need for Creation Spirituality enthusiasts (called “Connectors”) to become more cohesive as a community. A handful of us recognized a strong need for the Connectors to be more affirmed and supported. We developed and provided brochures, pamphlets, bumper stickers, pins, worksheets, online support, educational tools, bibliographies, workshops, training sessions, retreats, and referrals to Creation Spirituality Connectors and to their communities at large.

Empire tells the story that individuals are powerless (“What can one person do?”). Humans are violent by nature and need strong laws to protect them from each other, and if they transgress punishment will teach them to “stay in line”. “Feelings” are sissy, and “needs” are selfish. We do not have a choice because there are just some things that one has to do. There is the right way to do things and the wrong way, good/bad, fair/unfair; etc., and society will teach you what is what.

Women for Peace Iowa was founded after the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Four women (Muslim and Christian) in Cedar Rapids Iowa met to share their grief and (perhaps most importantly) to ask what can they could do to stop the violence? These women were horrified by the violent response to the 9/11 attacks. They could see how the government’s angry response gave validation to those who retaliated against Muslims in the U.S.

Empire’s development story:  True patriots support their government, and keep their country’s economy going by investing in the stock market and working hard to earn money to purchase more goods and services. Those who protest the way things are run are troublemakers. Capitalism is necessary for real democracy, so those who protest against corporations are to be looked down upon and kept under control. Besides, people aren’t smart enough to understand the ins and outs of our economy. The government knows what’s best for America.