Notes from Feb. 9 Planning call for Evo Salon 3

Dear ________,

I recently convened a 4-day "Evolutionary Salon" in central California with
30 leaders who are re-shaping their fields of expertise in accord with the
emerging evolutionary/ecological perspective.  The theme was "Evolutionary
Directionality, Emergent Complexity, and the Future of Humanity," and was
one of the most intellectually stimulating and passion-kindling events I've
ever attended.  (Our purpose and vision, bios & pictures of those who
attended, and reports from each session can be found here:
http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon.html )

Given the success of this first salon, many in attendance expressed an
interest in doing it again.  Those of us who planned and facilitated the
event are committed to convening similar gatherings of stellar hearts and
minds once every six months or so, in different regions.  We imagine
approximately a third of the attendees at any given salon coming from those
who attended a previous one, and approximately two-thirds of the attendees
being new to this kind of synergistic conversation.

The theme of the next 4-day Evolutionary Salon is "Catalyzing Collective
Intelligence and Social Creativity."   It is scheduled to be held January
14-18, 2006 at the Chinook Center of the Whidbey Institute, a remarkable
retreat setting located on Whidbey Island, an hour north of Seattle,
Washington.  You and three dozen other leaders are being invited.  See here
for those planning to attend: http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon2.html

Our shared inquiry will be:

    How do we understand, interpret, apply, and communicate the
    evolutionary worldview offered by mainstream and emerging
    sciences, to facilitate a positive impact on the evolution of
    humanity and the natural world?

Or, as we named it during the first salon: How do we support a movement
towards the conscious evolution of increasingly conscious social systems?
 
More specifically, we want to better understand the motions of the social
body as it moves to wake up:

(1) What is the worldview and what are the activities and strategies of the
emerging movement to BECOME the new society, and how can we make the
community of co-evolutionists more visible to itself so that it can be as
influential as possible?

(2)  What existing or visionary forms of social creativity could play
significant roles in the evolution of social systems?

(3)  How can "The Great Story" (the epic of evolution told as a personally
and socially meaningful, inclusive, science-based creation myth) be told in
ways that inspire millions of people with different belief systems to
cooperate along just, sustainable lines?  And what would have to happen for
such a big picture sacred story to spark people to find their calling or
contribution, becoming active agents of social creativity?

(4)  What can we learn about the interrelated facets and dynamics of social
evolution that can be used as a curriculum to educate agents of conscious
evolution of social systems as well as orient people to the role of their
work in the larger movement?

(5)  How can salons, such as this, draw in diverse thought leaders and
practitioners, sending them back out with increased individual and
collective awareness, coherence, effectiveness and co-evolvability?

Working with me in organizing this event are Tom Atlee and Peggy Holman.  To
learn more about us, see here: http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon.html

We see this as a potential turning point in human evolution.  With the
evolutionary paradigm emerging as a significant force in virtually every
facet of human endeavor, we believe it is time to start weaving these
strands together to serve a better future.  We know that evolutionary
innovation and emergence is not just something that happened in the past,
but is happening right now in profound ways -- developments in which we are
intimately involved.  We feel an imperative for ourselves -- and for society
as a whole -- to become more conscious, co-creative participants in this
evolution.  We believe that generative cross-disciplinary conversation among
well-networked, knowledgeable people is catalyzing an important shift in
that direction.
 
We have discussed dozens of possible prospects and have decided we very much
want you to join in this conversation.  We invite you to

A.  Indicate on a scale of 1-10 (1 meaning "no way" and 10 meaning
"absolutely") what's the likelihood of your attending.

B.  If you estimate the probability of your coming at a 6 or above, within
the next week or two, if possible, please write an introductory paragraph
about yourself (300-500 words), telling a bit about what you bring to the
dialogue and what you look forward to about it.

As mentioned above, we will be meeting at the Chinook Center of the Whidbey
Institute, on Whidbey Island, just north of Seattle, Washington.  Room and
board costs, including three meals a day prepared by Chef Patty, are in the
range of $100-$120 per day.  If you're not already familiar with the Chinook
Center, see here: http://www.whidbeyinstitute.org/place.html

As an exploratory dialogue with potentially historic impact, this will not
be a "normal" conference.  There will be no keynote speakers, no
pre-designed workshops, no presentations of papers.  Much of our
conversation will be facilitated using methods developed by
evolution-oriented dialogue specialists to foster group opportunities for
self-organization, co-creativity and emergence.  Rest assured that there
will be ample free time for relaxation and random conversations --
especially knowing that important breakthroughs can easily happen during
such times!

Another difference from most conferences:  No one is being paid for
participating in this Evolutionary Salon and there is no institutional
subsidy -- or bureaucracy.  We is it!

Beyond your personal travel, food and lodging, the only costs for this
gathering are some shared expenses for communally available food, supplies,
and documentation.

So, once again, please imagine a group of leading-edge evolutionary and
ecological thinkers and activists coming together to discuss the fact of
evolutionary emergence and its various interpretations and implications, and
to engage in generative dialogue about how to act on this understanding to
expand its influence into the mainstream.  If you would like to be part of
this group, please let me know soon.  I hope you say yes.

Sincerely,

Michael Dowd

Cell: 425-760-9941
MBDowd@bigplanet.com