Sharing the Hollywood story at the International Findhorn New Story Summit

Holly, Hollywood and me – we’ll be sharing  Resiliencies: stories of transformation from within a small Irish forest at the Findhorn International Summit on New Stories in late September 2014. Photo: Jan Alexander

Update: This event is fully-booked but you can participate via live internet screening to see the main talks here.

You can also join and add your story or take part in a group, see the New Story Hub network site here

 

“For people, generally, their story of the universe and the human role in the universe is their primary source of intelligibility and value. The deepest crises experienced by any society are those moments of change when the story becomes inadequate for meeting the survival demands of a present situation”.

Thomas Berry, Dream of the Earth

Some months ago I was asked if I would share my story of helping transform our small forest, to an international week-long summit audience at Findhorn. Findhorn is the world’s oldest intentional community, eco-village, and a leading UN acredited sustainable education and training centre*.

The theme for the already booked-out summit is close to my work and centers on the need for ‘new stories’ and models that we need to embrace to live more sustainably. Leading ‘story-tellers’, ‘change-makers’, activists, shamans, educators, indigenous leaders and others from across the world will be coming to share their experiences to build a culture of new stories for the changing and challenging times we are facing. Looking at all facets that this change will involve new stories for our education, our spirit, our economics and our politics.

This ‘New Story Summit – Inspiring Pathways for our Planetary Future’, 27 Sept-3 October 2014, is the Findhorn Foundation’s*  international call to people of all ages and cultures to:

• those already living their edge of a new story
• those who have carried the best of the old story forward, the ancient and indigenous wisdom
• those investigating threads of possibility
• those seeking inspiration and insight as to what could be: to gather with open hearts and minds to open to and experience what we can co-create together.

An introduction to the summit can be seen below:

In my own case I was surprised/thrilled/nervous about this invitation; wondering if I have enough to share and in what form I would share my ‘story’. The event is not a series of lectures but evolving participatory group sessions and I will be helping to document the stories that arise during the week. So I am going to share my story but also to help bring other stories back to where I live here too. By chance I found I already knew a key Irish Findhorn representative, Elinor Mountain, from other previous work. Elinor has a long association with Findhorn and is hoping to share the summit (there is an intention to web-stream some of the events) locally in the Kilkenny region. If you are interested see Elinor’s facebook page for updates here – this evening Elinor will be hosting the first meeting about Findhorn’s New Story Summit and I will be briefly telling others about the Hollywood story I’m bringing to Findhorn.

For me, the ‘New Story Summit’ is going to be a wonderful experience meeting people from across the world and hearing about people’s work I have long admired: Satish Kumar (former activist and now editor of the magazine Resurgence), Polly Higgins (who works to have a law against ecocide recognised), Jonathan Porritt (UK leader in sustainability and co-chair of the UK Green Party ), Charles Eisenstein (author/speaker on the Economics of Happiness), Geoff Mead (story-teller for change in organisations), and many more will be sharing their stories too (see list of guest participants from around the world here.

Here is more information on the event. If you are interested you can follow the lead up to the event here on the Findhorn New Story facebook page here.

* This short video below gives an overview how Findhorn started from humble beginnings – three people in tune with nature, growing legendary vegetables, and since then, how it has become an inspiring meeting place for learning that welcomes and seeds new ideas and actions across the world.

“Since 1972 the Findhorn Foundation and community aims to inspire and encourage transformation in human consciousness, to help create a positive future for humanity and our planet. We are a holistic learning centre, community and ecovillage, offering experiential learning and a holistic leadership programme.”