SeThInk Media

2012 - Year of the Black Water Dragon

2012-01-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

We stepped out of the January 1st 'new year' hoopla in favor of celebrating the beginning of this epic year on the 'Lunar New Year' as celebrated by the Chinese culture for millenniums. The ending of the Mayan 13th Baktun and the beginning of the 14th inspired us to switch our own clocks and calendars around the traditional 'new year' and we expect more interesting calibrations will be occurring throughout the year for us. So Happy New Year everyone!

SeThInk Media's goals for 2012 are still being formulated by our team and we have spent the past few weeks looking back on 2011 - the year we deemed as the 'Year of Building Sustainable Structures & Systems and Laying the Four Corners Foundation'.

Now that it is over we are calling it the 'Year of DeConstruction' because old structures and systems had to be torn down, bulldozed, blown up, annihilated, and occasionally simply flushed down the toilet before we could even think about building anything. And the four corners foundation? That was an idea we had around establishing solid partnerships with various 'non-profits' and indigenous groups for the purpose of furthering the 'Low Impact Sustainable Development' agenda. The comedy in those efforts provided ample cushion for the disappointments that our team experienced when those whom a great deal of energy was given to were either to afraid to trust something 'new' or simply did not understand the opportunity that was being presented.

Last week we were inspired with a conversation with the authors of 'Collaboration Soup'...they contacted us to interview us about our business and projects efforts to form partnerships and group initiatives. They wanted to know what kinds of challenges and obstacles we have faced so we gave them a good overview that we hope gives their next publication some solid material around the subject. After the call ended we realized that we had lost a great deal of heart this past year and we resolved ourselves to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and get back into the ring. Not all of our efforts were in vain and Paula & Delia (authors of Collaboration Soup) had a special way of re-inspiring us to go forth.

So our first commitment for the year is going to be broadcasted on Monday - Chinese New Year - on the Transition California Network.

We hope your year is starting out with heart and determination! It is the year of the Dragon so there will be plenty of fire for our collective and individual dreams and goals...

In Sustainable Solidarity

PrezDan

Great Transitions...and "Happy Winter Solstice!

2011-12-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

After the last post the universe decided that we needed a bit of a change of environment and we embarked upon our own 'Great Transition' of sorts. You never can tell what the meaning of something may be in terms of sudden ultra aligned opportunities and I have always believed it is best to act first and then ask questions later when faced with advantageous opportunities so we made the leap and landed well on new land just 18 miles and 400ft elevation drop from where we previously called home - WE MOVED!

Lady D and Fawn

Justin, Leah, & Lil' Sheeba

The deal breaker was the fruit and nut trees well established and an awesome barn for our horses. Don't get me wrong, we loved the old historic/rustic barn that we rebuilt when we moved into the old place but we only had 1 horse when we arrived and our herd has grown to 5 now.

So that is how we spent our Fall - moving. We launched the 'A New We 2012' campaign and Global EcoVillage & Sustainable Community Network successfully on 11.11.11. but then had to immerse ourselves in the monumental task of uprooting 3 years worth of land (trees, herbs, flowers etc - yes we took everything...even the rocks) and preparing our *Ka-tet for the transition...

Thus the lack of presence online and also now the huge backlog of work we have to do to play catch up on within our ever expanding and evolving web matrix.

Another huge factor in our time and calendar eater is our increasing involvement with Matrix Switch - the company that has been feeding our more altruistic and philanthropic efforts.

Those who know us well are always asking us how we manage to handle our work load and we always tell them that having long term strategies and a sustainable agenda makes it possible because even when we hit the pillow after what can feel like a decade of work crammed into a 24 hour period of time we have a deep sense of well being that comes from having unwavering intent.

Tonight is Winter Solstice eve and the wireless is up and running on all of our computers now so we will send out the Happy Solstice broadcasts and tomorrow light a fire to renew our spirits and perhaps get a glimpse into the coming epic year of 2012....I know I personally have vowed to launch the "Of Sound Mind 2012' project and I trust the time will be created for all things that align with the universal agenda of our evolution...

May you all have a bright and happy solstice day and may your holiday celebrations be blessed.

In Sustainable Solidarity

PrezDan

*Ka-Tet: Literally speaking, ka-tet means "one made from many." Ka refers to destiny; tet refers to a group of people with the same interests or goals. Ka-tet is the place where man's lives are joined by fate.

The Fall in Fall

2011-10-15T23:46:00.000-07:00

Fall Fawn

Nothing like falling in the fall time...Occupy Wall Street is shaking the leaves on the big money tree and today 'All Roads Lead to Rome' was the adage leaf that these winds of change are blowing about...there was even a demonstration in our small rural community here in Nevada County!

The SeThInk team has had its fair share of tree shaking since our last "Interdependence Day' post in July. It seems everyone is needing to evaluate their priorities and make choices that will hopefully further their basic life intentions (whatever they may be).

In early spring when the weather here in the Sierra's was still acting like winter we embarked upon our first on-the-ground strategies to build alliances and check out the local systems and structures built up around our own 'local' green and sustainable living circles. The impetus for such a plan came from Transition California's successful sponsorship of the Bay Localize 'Roots of Resilience'5 Year Anniversary Gala.

In May SeThInk Media sponsored our local 'Green Life EcoFest' which ended up being highly educational...uh humm....but there were a couple of outcomes from the event that at the time felt promising and made our energy and monetary investment seem worthwhile. During the event we connected with the local indigenous Maidu tribe folks and proceeded to attempt to form a solid alliance and seek official endorsement of the Low Impact Sustainable Development agenda that we have been working on since the Lammas EcoVillage in Wales received planning approval..

Maybe we are of a now extinct or not yet born mindset, but our team held an idea in our perhaps delusional minds that when alliances are formed there is an expected 'giving' of some kind that demonstrates worthiness and value to the pact. Maybe we watched to many movies full of noble concepts or perhaps my generation simply missed a few human behavior memos. Regardless I should simply fast forward and spare everyone the gory details of human dysfunction and folly but it turns out the Tsi Akim Maidu are not even the real indigenous tribe from this area - the Nisenan tribe is and we got a gullet full of...uh...politics(?) that we are still choking a bit on and trying to figure out.

By the end of September our team sat looking at substantial losses of time, energy, and resources in our pursuit of local sanity in the form of systems and structures that we had hoped would be a 3D basis for further support from our little digital matrix. We also had a major family crises with an elder uncle.

We are now re-loading back into cyber-space and probably won't touch ground again until some omen or auspicious sign from on high demands we come out again to check the weather. We are happy to be back in our office and realize that perhaps our little role in this transition needs to be primarily focused in our immediate sphere and our cyber-spheres. Our attempt to expand our 'family' beyond that turned into a 13 ring circus. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and this summer taught us a great deal about both so onward and upward.

Where everything currently stands:

We severed our alliances with the following organizations and movements:

Earth Charter U.S.
4 Years Go
Earth Scouts (the network is now community owned/managed and goes by the new name of Planet Earth Scouts - long story)

We determined that the following local orgs/groups are unable or unwilling at this time to understand what a 'strategic alliance' is therefore we will no longer be supporting or working with them until a change in leadership or comprehension occurs:

Alliance for the Post Petroleum Local Economy (A.P.P.L.E.)
Nevada County Maidu
Various community 'leaders' whom we won't name

We will be focusing our energy on the following projects:

"A New We' 2012

A partnership between SeThInk Media and L.O.V.E. Productions to launch the Global EcoVillages Sustainable Community Network and publish media related to sustainable living.

Low Impact Sustainable Development Agency

Continuing the effort to import and adapt the criteria and protocols established by the Lammas EcoVillage in Wales into the U.S.

Seeds of Sustainability

Complete update of this project and evolving resources for community members.

Jayatu

Launching the storytelling online education platform.

Transition California

Working with members to launch a statewide campaign to get mandatory labeling of GMO's on the 2012 ballot, getting caught up on community network admin work, completing content upgrades, connecting with groups and having meetings that have been put off all summer. Transition California is our favorite online community effort - we look forward to being able to plug back in and keep things evolving.

Planet Earth Scouts

We have committed to helping this new network get a solid foundation built so we will be devoting time/energy towards that effort.

Green Fire Foundation

Updating the main website and getting this foundation's foundation on solid ground.

Along side these we will be doing general website updates across all our platforms.

We are the Ninjas of Wild West Web!

SeThInk Media CEO Dar, Prez Dan, Vice Prez Element

In Sustainable Solidarity

PrezDan

Interdependent Strategic Alliances & Partners

2011-07-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

As the world continues to go through its multi-layers of transition during this time we live in our speck of the cosmos is actually riding the waves of change with relative grace and sometimes seemingly effortless synchronization with those around us who are seeking the same level of shift we have committed ourselves to.

On July 3rd we celebrated our first 'local' 3D on the ground "Interdependence Day" event in partnership and alliance with the local Maidu family/friends. The event was intended to be the launch pad for the "Inter-Tribal EcoVillage Council" and a fundraiser for the upcoming Indigenous Peoples Day annual event.

Our team is going into the next level of our long term strategies around the sustainability agenda and we have launched the official 'EcoVilage-Low Impact Sustainable Development' blog that will be an ongoing record of our efforts to import the criteria and protocols established in the UK here into the U.S.

We put up an overview presentation of the story of Lammas EcoVillage in our SeThInk Media tent at the event and shared with attendees information about the goals and objectives of the council and agency.

The excitement and enthusiasm that folks express towards this model getting accepted here in the U.S. always transforms into the fuel and energy we will need to translate and adapt the structure/language found in the established UK criteria into formats that will easily apply to our own local county in the State of California.

The "Inter-Tribal EcoVillage Council' is being established parallel to the agency to represent indigenous stakeholders and interests in the adoption of the L.I.S.D. model on native lands that will manifest as education centers throughout the country.

The high level of interest from Native peoples and the establishment of the 'interdependent' Inter-Tribal council is a very encouraging sign that the time is perfect to begin the delicate weaving of a sustainable community model that will bridge the gap between many different worlds and their various challenges.

The council leaders are coming together and the Buffalo Field Campaign and many other indigenous concerns will seamlessly be integrated into the Inter-Tribal EcoVillage Council agenda.

At the Interdependence Day event stories, music, and information was shared by prominent members of the tribal families both local and from the East Coast Tribe's and seeds were planted for solid alliances as we move forward into this stage of our efforts.

For more information please check out the agency blog and the Inter-Tribal blog here and sign up to receive updates.

SeThInk Media & the GreenLife EcoFest

2011-06-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

SeThInk Media's sustainability matrix had the opportunity to land on the ground for the GreenLife EcoFest 2011 first year debut here in Nevada County!

Rachel Kaplan's new book
"Urban Homesteading"
displayed a the SeThInk Media
Community Pavilion

How it all started was with Transition California member and author of the new book 'Urban Homesteading", Rachel Kaplan, having to cancel as a speaker at the event and us telling her we would be happy to promote her book for her that seems this event was in our home town stomping grounds.

We contacted the event director, Lori Lachman who manages the Local Green Sierra site, and made the initial inquiries. Well one small thing always leads to another when you are committed to both the local and global efforts we decided to sponsor and volunteer the skills/talents of the SeThInk Media team towards this awesome community effort.

Now the challenge of downloading our online media into 3D. We put out a post to the Transition California members announcing the event and inviting anyone interested in coming to have a "Transition Meet Up"...so we need a space...a big one. And Michael Lefler from Life's Best Inn Tents had the 40ft beautiful hexagonal tent that would serve the purpose!

Having done event organizing in the past we jumped in as 5th wheels helping Lori and her volunteer committee round up sound systems, volunteers, food, and of course helping with the events website updates. Some of our efforts succeeded while others fell short due to the fact that we came on board in the last weeks countdown and any of you who have done events knows what a crazy time that is! This event was being organized by a committee with zero event experience and zero budget so it was a real community effort (All Hands on Deck) that we were happy to be a part of.

A week before the event we realized that we had not even had time to prepare our own table content and media so we ourselves were caught in a whirlwind of activity creating and ordering print media for Seeds of Sustainability, Transition California, Jayatu, Earth Charter US, Interdependent Project, A New We, and the EcoVillage Network's Low Impact Sustainable Development agenda.

I was also asked to be a speaker at the event to share the SOS (Seeds of Sustainability) info and we made arraignments for our partner Jayatu to attend the event to do storytelling that we could film for the launch of the Jayatu Storytelling Community.
We were doing an event within an event and it was good that our team was swept up in the excited energy or we may have freaked out realizing the enormity of the task in front of us. Peak Moment TV sent us some of their media as well to have in the ever growing 'Community Conversation Cafe' (just one of the names we called our space) and speakers like Micheal Ruppert and Dimitri Orlov had their books available and did book signings after their presentations.

We had forgotten the world of paper in many ways, we were used to being able to quickly and easily present information in digital online formats. Suddenly we were ordering hardcopies of our own DVD's, CD's, and printing mini ebooks, power point presentations, photos, and even ordering buttons/bumper stickers for the occasion.

Another factor was the weather - it had been raining quite a bit and everyone was doing their own style sun dances and prayers for sunshine. It worked...3 days of sun (well partly cloudy) opened the gates when it was showtime.

The stage was set and ready to go...but it was not until Sunday that the show really arrived in the SeThInk pavillion...like a stampede of Buffalo hearing the gathering drum in walked native musicians Good Shield and Mignon offering to play their deep messages and sound that can be only described as the heartbeat of every Earth Native that walks today.
We are now in the process of forging alliances with the local Maidu and other native groups to forward the Low Impact Sustainable Development Agenda. We committed to sponsor and help organize the Native Village at the upcoming California Worldfest (also here in Nevada County) where we will be able to seek endorsements for the initiative. We will be launching Good Shield's website and publishing his CD's right before the World Fest in July.

We also test drove the 'Local Endorsement' media for the Earth Charter and had information about the Earth Scouts set up in the children's tent that was hosted by the Placer Nature Center. There was a great deal of information overload happening and unfortunately I was not able to catch as much time and space I would have liked to spent with some very awesome folks who attended. We did manage to catch a fat stack of business cards and phone numbers though that over the coming months will be followed up with emails and phone calls.

Our team was stoked to have been able to participate and contribute and we look forward to seeing what direction the path unfolds as we put on our land legs and dive into the 'Local" activity of our obviously transitioning community!

In Sustainable Solidarity

PrezDan

Earth Day Report

2011-04-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day Spherical SeThInk Friends and Family

My last blog post was at the beginning of the year when we set our intention on 2011 being the year of building sustainable models, structures, and systems...just goes to show how setting an intent can definitely lead to the 'chop wood, carry water' on the ground 'doings' and 'actions'.

Our team has never been so absolutely tasked and tacked to the calendar we were laughing about how nice it would be if in reality 2012 was the end of the calendar and time so we could at least enjoy a day sleeping in or at least a vacation from the computers around here!

I am not complaining, would not dream of doing such a thing on such a special day. I am spinning this blog report to recapitulate our activities and endeavors since the beginning of the year so let's begin with the biggest project first: The Earth Charter U.S.

Background:

Some of you may remember that in 2010 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Earth Charter my awesome and hopelessly philanthropic/idealistic CEO wife, 'Dar of Dandarius' was granted my, her hopelessly practical humanistic/cautious Prez husband, permission to create and gift (with SeThInk $ponsorship) the Earth Charter U.S. a new network for their Earth Scouts program (which at the time was a network of super dedicated folks all over the US hanging-in-there on multiple seriously outdated Yahoo groups).

The Earth Charter is one of the Interdependent Project's 'Fellowship' organizations but we had never formalized any kind of partnership with Earth Charter U.S. and had only had contact with the founder Jan Roberts and then Earth Scouts coordinator Genie Skypek through an interview for the Interdependent Project Radio.

So the Earth Scouts Network was created and gifted to a very surprised and appreciative founder and board of directors January 2010. By fall 2010 dialogue and conversations with ECUS board members about their website issues (no one to man the helm without it costing them way more than their budget would allow) and we proposed to them an 'interdependent partnership' customized for their needs and the needs of our long term 2020 goals and strategies to weave a new model of online collaboration and networking amongst all the far flung and disconnected organizations whose missions were driven by sustainability themes.

The planning and work began in November but did not become official until the first of the year. The plan was to rebuild their current website and build a community network capable of bringing together all the Earth Charter supporters, activists, and endorsers so that they could share and showcase their Earth Charter related activities. Also included in this was to position Earth Charter U.S. to be the first organization to participate and test drive the 10% for the Planet system that our team has been in the think tank about for quite a few years. By March we began the data base migration and launched the new website/network. Their main list of supporters were asked to 're-commit' and we were very impressed with the quality of individuals who emerged to become the core community of the network. On this Earth Day we began to cross-pollinate the networks and send out broadcasts about the Earth Charter to lists of people in our matrix to begin the next stage of the Earth Charter U.S. evolution.

Alongside this we entered into another 'interdependent partnership' with an Austrian film maker named Stefan Wolf who produced a film called 'A New We - EcoVillages and Ecological Communities in Europe'. This film was available in hard copy DVD but not as a digital download so after a great deal of dialogue with Stefan we set about the task of publishing the digital download English version for release on Earth Day. A % of SeThInk's share of the proceeds will be donated to the Green Fire Foundation and earmarked to fund a committee that is emerging from the Transition California community's EcoVillage Network to specifically take on the task of importing into the US the criteria and protocals that granted the Lammas EcoVillage in Wales precedent setting planning permission through the local government.

And SeThInk enjoyed being able to sponsor its first 'event' through the Transition California Community Network this year. Bay Localize had a 'Roots of Resilience' 5 year anniversary gala on April 2nd and we were delighted to be able to contribute as a sponsor and gift members of the Transition California Community free tickets to the event as part of our sponsorship. Although we were unable to attend the event the main organizer sent us copies of the evenings program and we were stoked to see the full page 'Titans of Transition' banner that promoted the Transition California Community Network at the event. We are still waiting for photos from the folks who attended on our behalf and will post them when available.

The Seeds of Sustainability DVD is on que for a complete revision this coming summer and the new release will include recipes and a great deal more information about the 'living oil'. Every person who has purchased the DVD will receive a free digital download of the revised edition. The online community network is evolving at a steady pace and we are confident that the new edition is going to please those members a great deal.

There is a great deal more that could be reported but I just realized how long this report is getting and so I will save the rest for later. I am going to sign off and enjoy the rest of the midnight hour doing something that I rarely have time to do....read from a good book!

In Sustainable Solidarity

PrezDan

Happy Equinox

2011-03-20T23:50:00.000-07:00

2011 - Year of Building Sustainable Structures & Systems

2011-01-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

What a year 2010 has been and I am so happy that it is over in many ways...the beginning of a new decade is a fractal of a beginning of a new century in many ways. 2010 brought some very challenging transitions and SeThInk Media as a company did not quite meet the goals we had set forth for ourselves to achieve.

But a business that has no 'exit strategy' built into the plan (we have no intention of exiting) is destined to have a much longer start up process according to a business manager I had a chance to speak with. The truth is that SeThInk Media is 'business unusual' and I am determined to see this company evolve into its potential without having to compromise or subscribe to old business model paradigms.

The promise of this coming year lies in the overall strategy to focus on publishing creative works that bring forth high quality contributions to the communities that we serve. The recent launch of Jayátu has been not only a great success but also a real affirmation to the SeThInk team that it is possible to connect with folks who believe in their own art enough to show up for their success. Jayátu as a human being has been a pleasure to work with on all levels and we have experienced the 'interdependent' partnership with him that we have been working so hard to create.

We foresee more such partnerships in this coming year manifesting and it is those authentic relationships that make all the thousands of hours that have gone into the SeThInk Media Sphere absolutely worth it. We also have some exciting launches on the plate and some great projects with organizations that we have recently and over the years been involved with.

We have found ourselves recently in the position to assist these organizations with their web portals and this will help strengthen the sustainability community in the long run. We are very excited to be able to be of service in that way...there is a rampant rip-off happening to organizations needing web technology support and we will be posting some articles about this phenomena over the coming months. Unfortunately we cannot 'name name's' but we can certainly provide some profile information that will help educate the less tech savvy elders who are allocating way too much of their budgets on website development.

Overall we are in a nice momentum with as usual a never ending fountain of creative inspiration and ideas about how we can make our little contribution to the next generation and beyond. The 'Wild West Web' will not be 'tamed' by the same structures and systems that got us into the current melt down. The web and digital reality is only going to evolve through erecting sustainable structures and systems that are 'spherical' in architecture and absolutely built on authentic relationships that inevitably call forth the true spirit of community.

Onward and upward is the sphere's natural spiral trajectory...no matter what way you move in a sphere it can always be experienced as forward right?

In Sustainable Solidarity

PrezDan

SeThInk Media is proud to present…JAYÁTU

2010-12-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

It always amazes me how things synchronize and come together when you hold unwavering intent. For the past year we have been scouting for the perfect subject to feature in volume II of the Seeds of Sustainability Education Series which is being developed using the10 branches of the Interdependent Tree of Sustainability.

Tree of Sustainability

Volume 1 was based on the first branch, 'Sustain Yourself' and DVD was about the Marche Sprouting Method which made its debut in Nov. 2009. The next branch is the "Path of Beauty" and the basic premise is that sustainable living is not just formulas, technologies, and systems...it is also living life with heart and walking a path of beauty...otherwise what is it you are sustaining?

Path of Beauty

The 'Path of Beauty' show and page on the Interdependent Project website showcases the arts, music, literary masterpieces, and poetry. It is within all of these arts, both in the active creation of and passive absorption of, that life becomes a showcase for our hearts and hearts desires. It would be futile to attempt any kind of serious change in lifestyle and behavior without inspiration and affirmation of the infinitely creative self.

So our dilemma revolved around the question 'how can we produce volume 2 along the Path of Beauty theme?' The goal of the series is to inspire and support folks in making a transition to sustainable living and the Path of Beauty theme needed to feature at least one of the 'arts' in that context.

Then on a beautiful autumn day this fall we received an invitation from dear friends to attend a private 'storytelling' gathering with a man who was a professional storyteller whose stories revolve around children, nature, and of all personages - John Muir!

We attended this gathering and as we sat spellbound and enchanted I said to myself, 'oral storytelling is the best way to convey and transmit new information to the human mind in ways that it can accept...especially when beauty encapsulates the story."

We spoke with the storyteller during the after-party and our conversation quickly revealed mutual ideologies and the gentleman felt a deep synchronicity in meeting us and learning about our digital publishing company because he had been looking at the idea of launching his art form out on the web to a wider audience.

Well when things line up we don't hesitate to come into alignment and after weeks of exciting production SeThInk Media is proud to present - JAYÁTU - A Tale Feather of the Golden Eagle.... Jayátu is launching with 3 unique storytelling collections just in time for the holiday season. For Jayátu, what began as an environmental education device has blossomed into a tried and true way to ensure that the first of the next 7 generations have a clear view of the possibilities of the future, and a reminder of the ancient knowledge we all share that for thousands upon thousands of years was passed down through the spoken word.

The oral tradition is a vital component to the evolution of human consciousness, and one of the surest ways to remind people of all creeds and cultures just how similar we all truly are. Stories point to what is universal within us, the possibilities of remembering that underneath all the apparent differences, we are one human family with one home that we are collectively responsible for caring for.

To kick off this exiting event and to celebrate the continuance of the oral tradition through the stories of Jayátu, SeThInk Media is producing a special debut video featuring Jayátu sharing a special holiday story and an audio recording of the unpublished ‘Trees’ story as a free gift to friends of Jayátu. Here is the invitation!

In Sustainable Solidarity
PrezDan

4 Years Go

2010-11-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

Every now and then a campaign comes to our attention that we cannot stop ourselves from becoming involved with. The 4 Years Go initiative is the most recent campaign that immediately inspired our participation. SeThInk Media is now an official allied organization and we are excited to be able to participate in this initiative through developing our own '4 year' agenda and sharing this campaign with all of our network communities.

One of the awesome resources allied organizations have is access to conferencing tools which make it possible to connect with folks from all around the world around specific agendas. We started a 'Transition California 4YG Action Group' and will be test driving this conferencing tool on Nov. 22. This group is just now forming and it is our goal to have this group write articles for the 4 Years Go main blog about all of the awesome efforts and progress the Transition California community members are making all across the state in their own personal lives and hometowns.

SeThInk Media is proud to be an allied organization and we invite you to make your own commitment to helping change the world to a more just, peaceful, and sustainable reality for all. Let's see what we can all do in 4 years...GO!

In Sustainable Solidarity
PrezDan

10 10 10 - Ten-Hut!

2010-10-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a good TEN-HUT to get everyone's attention. 10 10 10 - which reduces to a single digit 3 - will not be a number sequence seen again for a hundred years and it was refreshing to see that the occasion was going to be commemorated with a Global Work Party - A Day to Celebrate Climate Solutions.

Because our work is online we have witnessed and been invited to participate in quite a few global events that have happened on auspicious days over the years but we think this is the first one that we remember that was a 'work party' for the planet. We went to 350.orgs website to check out all the registered events and we were amazed at the creative variety and scope of this initiatives efforts.

There was a simple 10 Step Guide to planning your work party in the resource section and these were some of the top ideas for 10/10/10 activities:

Top Ideas For 10/10/10 Events

#1 Organize a Tree Planting
#2 Go Solar
#3 Work on a Community Garden or an Organic Farm
#4 Go For a Bike Ride
#5 Harness the Wind
#6 Get Efficient
#7 Do a trash cleanup

We ourselves will be home here doing land stewardship projects as always and it feels good to know that all over the world on that day there will be hundreds of thousands of folks touching the Earth with us.

In Sustainable Solidarity
PrezDan

Transition 2010

2010-09-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

Transitions are interesting because it places you between past and future - the present. And because the present point of power is in the now choices are extremely important in shaping both past and future. Yes, the past is also shaped in the present because the past is interpreted through your present understandings of a past experience. My point is that the transitions that are happening on a global scale are being felt deeply by all of us and this summer has been (according to my present understanding) a summer of major transition.

SeThInk Media became official sponsor of the Transition California Network at the beginning of July and taking over management of that network has been an honor and privilege bestowed upon us by the previous owner, founder of Hope Dance Bob Banner, when his path also transitioned. The theme we have been seeing around us is folks really making solid directional choices which allow them to focus on their own personal paths of heart.

Our company is also sponsoring several other networks that were threatened by Ning's decision to become a subscription platform. Believe Africa and Children's Agenda International are two initiatives that we have ties with that we hope to be able to do more for than uphold their networks and site - we hope to be able to channel resources in the form of sustainable solution information, network connection, and of course good ole' fashioned money whenever possible.

This summer we also have been working on the Interdependent Partner model that is based upon matching missions between business and organizations. Mutual endorsement is a key component to the new model and we hope to be able to launch it with the 10% for the Planet project this coming winter.

Another very important endeavor that has received a great deal of our time is launching the Seeds of Sustainability Living Oil business. This is the first 'brick and mortar' project that we have attempted and it has proved to be highly educational for us. We of course bring sustainable agendas to anything we touch and the Living Oil business is no exception. We are learning about carbon footprints of food production and the supply chains that have been created around the 'organic' label. Hot tip to anyone who has land - GROW ORGANIC SUNFLOWERS! If you live in California let us know and we will definitely partner up with you to buy your whole crop.

It has also come to our attention that the time is now to bring Low Impact Sustainable Development protocols that were established by the Lammas EcoVillage in Wales to the United States. We are in the process of forming a local citizens committee and will keep you all posted as our efforts develop. Our goal is to create an easy to duplicate process that can be accessed by anyone via digital media/publications around the country. We of course have to test drive and fund it here in our own local community so we will be documenting the process as we go along.

So as we continue our participation in the weaving of the sustainable matrix we find ourselves in constant gratitude to be able to witness The Great Transition as it is happening.

In Sustainable Solidarity

PrezDan

Zero Degrees at Ground Zero

2010-06-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

I am not much of an astrologer but I know enough that when an outer planet changes signs it is a pretty big deal. The big players these past few months have been Saturn (Time & Structure) and Uranus (Timing & Change). Also just in the past couple weeks Jupiter joined the party (Expansion & Wisdom).

The gulf oil spill has tipped the scales and it seems we are deep in the collective shift at this point that will inevitably lead toward a more sustainable world. In the Dandarius Sphere these past few months have seen big changes that are opening new doors of possibilities and it appears some doors are closing that represented outworn and outdated beliefs and structures. I always welcome change and I believe the recent shifts and changes will further SeThInk's long term mission and strategies in extremely positive ways.

We are working on a new partner model that will be easily implemented by non-profits and 'Common Good 'B' Corp' businesses. Getting new models and maps on paper is always the challenging part - easy to talk about but challenging to map out. The new model is coming together from ideas that I have worked on as well as many others - below is from an article we found on the World Watch Institutes website called the 'Essential Role of Cultural Pioneers':

"Considering that consumerism is such a powerful
force and that the majority of resources
and wealth are still overwhelmingly being
used to stimulate it, how realistic is it to think
that the pattern can shift? James Davison
Hunter’s analysis of how cultures change is
instructive. As Hunter, the Director of the
Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at
the University of Virginia, explains, cultural
change can best be understood not through
the Great Man approach (whereby heroic individuals
redirect the course of history), but
through the Great Network approach. “The
key actor in history is not individual genius
but rather the network.”
Full Article here

The Interdependent Project is up for a new direction through a new partnership we are exploring as well and during the month of July we are partnering with the local sustainability center offering Seeds of Sustainability workshops. We are also looking into partnering with the Alchemical Nursery Project as fiscal sponsor of the Green Fire Foundation.

Interdependence Day/Solstice was selfishly spent with my wife and CEO at a sacred lake where she was conceived and we enjoyed the 3 day passage that marked our anniversary of meeting - which was when 'Dandarius' was conceived as well. We met on Solstice and thus we hold that time to be not only sacred as World Peace Prayer Day and Interdependence Day, but as the day we were reunited. So we did not do any special online announcements or activities this year - it was time to go in and recharge ourselves within our own interdependent sphere.

As the planets are stationed at 0' degrees transition it feels good for me to be at ground zero where all potentials can be viewed and I feel the power of choice rise within me that will manifest those potentials.

Cheers

PrezDan

Dynamic Governance

2010-03-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy past couple months and now that we are officially in spring time here in the Northern Hemisphere things are going to get even busier here in the Land of Dandarius. We have been working diligently setting up the partner program for the Seeds of Sustainability program and today we received an email from one of our partners that contained some information about something called 'Dynamic Governance'.

The term intrigued us and we followed the links to a website called Governance Alive. We downloaded the free pdf they offer on the home page called 'Creative Forces of Self-Organization' and what we learned catalyzed a very dynamic conversation amongst our team. Here is an excerpt:

"Dynamic governance, or sociocracy, is a decision-making and governance method that allows an organization to manage itself as an organic whole. To make this possible, dynamic governance enables every sub-part of the organization to have an authoritative voice in the management of the organization."

This sounded like something we want to create within our business! As we read on we learned that:

"...a dynamically governed business places control of a company in the hands of both stockholders and management and in both management and workers. It typically uses both autocratic and egalitarian decision-making. It provides both a security assurance and a creative stimulus. It is concerned with both profit and human values.By combining seemingly incompatible concepts, both/and thinking stimulates creative thinking and causes that seemingly chaotic thinking to self-organize into very practical solutions."

SeThInk Media wants to grow up to be a dynamically governed business and as we nurture this company we want to share the resources that we will be using with all of you who also have a strong desire to build or reshape your own business along similar lines.

Happy Spring Planting to everyone!

PrezDan

2010 - Year of the Empress & The Golden Tiger

2010-01-25T23:18:00.000-08:00

2010 Is unfolding at lightning speed as we gear up for the intense wave of transition that is quickly transporting those with surfboards to their goal and smashing the rest on the rocks. It is going to be a year for thinking on ones feet, a year for being prepared for the auspicious opportunities that will be coming from every direction as worlds collide and separate at an accelerated pace.

The challenge will be deciding which opportunities are worthy of top priority, and keeping our limited energies harmoniously distributed. As a company, SeThInk Media has big plans for this decade, and a lot of balls primed to be set into motion.

A few things to keep your eyes peeled for....

The online portal for the organization and mapping of the Of Sound Mind Winter Solstice 2012 worldwide music event (now theres a mouthful for you!)

As well as the first glimpses of SeThInk CultWear, and the first round of publications (more on this soon :-)

Our goal is to navigate this year like an ever transparent bubble, being flexible enough to avoid being popped by the jagged terrain we are faced with as we make our way into the stratosphere. We have high hopes, and the determination to make the impossible possible, and plenty of open source, experimental new paradigm business models to play around with and see what works.

As we share our lofty visions with others, we have been told by many that our goals are unreasonable, and at best unattainable. Our knowledge that "reasonable" people have never been catalysts for large scale change keeps us going and allows us to transmutate the doubt and cynicism of others into further fuel for our determination.

With the Chinese New Year coming just around the corner on February 14th we can prepare ourselves for the Year of the Golden Tiger on Valentines Day - courting courageous action and innovation yeah?

2010 is also the number 3 in numerology which according to Mary Greer's 'Tarot Numerology' is the number of the 'Empress' Sounds like the making of an epic story: The Empress & The Golden Tiger...

As we write 'her'story let's be sure to learn from 'his'tory...

What would you want to remember as you look back on this time period?

Looking forward to the unfolding year!

PrezDan

Transparency in a company...

2009-12-18T21:10:00.000-08:00

As we launch what we hope to be a new model for media and doing work on the articles of incorporation and bylaws for SeThInk a great deal of discussion has been devoted to the concept of 'transparency'. I was reading some stuff on Wiki and found these two pages of interest:

1 - Corporate transparency is a form of radical transparency: The construct removing all barriers to —and facilitating of— free and easy public access to corporate, political and personal information and the laws, rules, social connivance and processes that facilitate and protect those individuals and corporations who freely join, develop and embellish the process. The goal of radical transparency is:

1. Complete personal and corporate transparency.
2. The health, safety, and well being of individuals, neighborhoods, communities, institutions, governments and social support systems that subscribe.
3. The protection of the natural environment.
4. The dynamic development of the social assumptions, laws, and conviviance that construct the radical transparency paradigm.

The idea of radical transparency is diametrically opposite—though not opposed and often synced to the ultimate goals of those of privacy advocates. Central is the idea of free access to "personal" information. But melded to that element is the idea of private ownership of that publicly accessible information. The information can not be used freely to enhance economic or political profit or to harm or use the participant.

For two examples:

1. John Smith lives at 555 Main Street, Anytown, USA and his phone # is 555-1234. He is also diabetic. If you wanted to use that information to advertise your business or service, John Smith has the right to charge you for the right to solicit him. You do not have the right to send him mail, or phone him or in other ways use that information for profit freely.

2. John Smith is also an undocumented British citizen who distributes cocaine in his neighborhood and generated $44,000.00 in income for himself last year. INS, IRS, and law enforcement could not use that public accessible information to prosecute him, collect taxes, deport him, interrogate him, or in any way diminish his quality of life.

To imagine how this might work: Suppose all claimed publicly accessible information were considered both "creative works of pure fiction" and "intellectual property" upon which those making it available, either the individual (hence "radical") or corporation ("traditional") had full copyright/trademark/patent/intellectual property protection and ownership. In this way radical disclosure would extend and expand to individuals the protections currently extended and enjoyed by corporations, their boards and officers.

After reading that I scratched my head a bit and clicked on the 'radical transparency' link that was on the page and read.....

2. - Radical transparency is a management approach in which (ideally) all decision making is carried out publicly. Draft documents, arguments for and against a proposal, the decisions about the decision making process itself, and final decisions are all publicly accessible and remain publicly archived. Exceptions to full transparency typically include data related to personal privacy, security, and passwords or keys necessary for access required to carry out publicly negotiated decisions.

Technical actions perceived to be controversial or political are considered to lack legitimacy until a clear, radically transparent decision has been made concerning them. Radical transparency is much more transparent than accountability.

It requires decision making to be transparent right from the beginning of the decision making process, while accountability is a process of verifying the quality of decisions or actions after they have been taken.

This difference implies that while accountability generally implements some sort of punishment mechanism against individuals or institutions judged to have taken poor quality decisions or actions, after those decisions have been taken or actions carried out, radical transparency encourages corrections and improvements to decisions to be made long before poor quality decisions have the chance to be enacted. Hence, radical transparency potentially helps avoid the need for punishment mechanisms.

The potential of radical transparency to allow corrections and improvements to decision making is likely to be higher when the decision making method is either a consensus decision making method or a democratic decision making method. However, even when the decision making method is authoritarian (unilateral), radical transparency may still encourage the decision maker to make better decisions.
________________________

When I think about the kind of transparency I would like to see SeThInk Media model I imagine posting monthly earning reports, where the money went, and how that money was spent by those it went to. Is that radical?

I thought it would be entertaining:
"Hey - we got to by new horse troughs with our share of the flow."
"We managed to pay our rent this month from ours"
"We bought our children some new clothes and paid off our vet bill"

You can see what I mean. I think people started hiding their earnings and how they spent it because somewhere in the growth of the flow there was a ridiculous surplus that started to be squandered in meaningless ways - and that is a tragic ending for good energy flow. So people starting hiding because in reality they never even had a long term vision of how they would direct that kind of flow so when it happened they simply flushed it.

The culture of people whom SeThInk Media intends to serve and those whom SeThInk intends to employ are vibrating at a different level - not the level that 'denounces' wealth and sees money as 'the root of all evil' though. SeThInk Media understands that money=energy and energy=money and this company is being founded to channel energy and money into long term vision, planning, building a sustainable infrastructure for our future. And for this to manifest then the company is going to have to be a portal for a huge amount of money/energy.

I want this company to be transparent - so people can see clearly how they too can begin to take steps towards long term planning and building regenerative and sustainable community where they are and become proudly transparent.

What do you think?

PrezDan

Website Launched

2009-12-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

The website has been officially uploaded and launched!

It sat for many moons with a 'under construction' status and we are stoked to have it up. It always feels like giving birth to a cyber-baby and just like any biological baby these web-babies take constant nourishment and care. We decided to not have a drop-down navbar because we wanted the site to have a 'spherical' look - we imagine that as the company grows we will have to figure something else out but for now we like the custom look. So the journey begins here...SeThInk Media is going to experiment with the concept of 'corporate transparency' so we recommend subscribing to this blog because we are going to be logging this companies development in ways that are completely 'outside of the box'. It is late as I type so I am off to sleep - so I will begin the official "President's Log" in my next post.

In Spherical Solidarity
Daniel Cavallaro
President SeThInk Media