Tahnee Wolf, a wonderful facilitator in Australia, and Marcia Martin, an equally bright light from LA, delivered a symposium in Bali recently (tough job, someone had to do it) and so inspired 4 folk from Hong Kong that when I offered to stop over for 24 hours on my way from mainland China to New Zealand my offer was taken very seriously.
Led by the amazing Jo Fok, they organised 2 symposiums and an Introduction to the Symposium Training, all in the short time I was on the ground.
Jo and her huge-hearted hubby Paul met me from the airport train and whisked me off to a room they had found for Symposium #1, a children.s nursery no less. Fifteen people joined us and 4 hours later we knew we were a team with work to do. Rayne had stepped up to help get the translation finished for the Mandarin sub-titled DVD, Vicky took 60+ business cards I'd collected in Hangzhou, each representing a Chinese speaker who wants to play, and promiesed to transcribe them into a data base which Juan has set up for us. Other people offered their networks or design sevices. Something was starting for HK but as part of the mainland China venture too.
Then Jo and Paul whisked me off to my new Hong Kong pad, a friend's apartmentshe had arranged for me to use. Early the next day Jo and I took breakfast (including the famous "ladies stocking coffee" which tasted great either despite or because it had been drained through someone's hose!!!!). Refreshments apart I could tell I was sat with a very special person, someone who is prepared to commit herself to the work of healing the world, knowing full well this is work we do on the inside just as much as the outside. Pachamama was with us so strongly amidst the concrete, glass and steel of this amazing city.
Without pause we headed off to Serena's, another wonderful friend of Jo's hosted a symposium for 5 in her 16th floor apartment, beautifull comfortable with staggering views over the city. Another 5 people conected with our message and we bagan to hatch plans for a big symposium later this year for 00's of people that these wonderful folk can bring together.
Off again, to lunch, where we met up with Fiona Matthews, founder of Earth Champions, who I had last met at Be the Change in Londn in 2005; an extra-ordianry force for change and a potential ally of ours, we just have to work out how. Then we went back to my pad for an Introduction Training - lo and behold 9 people had been unreasonable enough to get the afternoon off work to attend and the Dream Makers were born. Pascal, Sarah, Jon, Eva, Chelsea, Merrin, Mani, Les ad Jo, welcome to the world-wide facilitator body. An intense, profound and beautiful afternoon ended with all-to-brief hugs then a taxi to a train to a plane and away.
I had invited Jo to make the fullest use of my time in HK, and she certainly did that. And Jo and Paul wouldn't let me even visit a bank, they escorted me everywhere, paid for everything, fed and housed me and I saw in this their hearts (thank you guys, I love you both), I understood how Jo has become such a successful TV producer and I knew in these moments that big things will follow in Hong Kong and through HK also, on the mainland.
To everyone I met in Hong Kong a huge thank you, whatever emerges from this I know we have wonderful partners in you all, and together we can create new dreams in many, many ways. Here's to all that will unfold.
Pudong Airport in Shanghai would rival any modern airport in the world for scale, modernity and efficiency.
I'm supping Italian coffee, chatting online and watching a somewhat up-market crowd move through the airport. Clearly here the flights are out of reach of the poorer folk (or they are consigned to another airport of their own) and we could be in Paris or Geneva. The crowd is ah-so-bored Western buisness folk, travellers from the more developed world clutching bargains and tourist guides, plus seemingly wealthy Chinese wearing the latest fashions. The airport offers the normal diversions, food, drink and lusting after material excess. Why did I think I might get a pair of cheap trainers here, the $100 sneaker is alive and well - and not even a brand I know. The more familiar brands are here too and then the wanna be local brands borrowing look and feel to up their own perceived value. So what . . . . . why would it be any different? Its only my preconception or projection which would make this airport different from any other. And I do want to se it different, I do want to see an ancient culture reflected somehow, I do want to resist the McChina effect. For sentimental reasons, for environmental reasons, for the love of diversity and in hope for our future.
We drove here on wonderful roads that shame the infrastructure of the Bay Area, past an endless parade of huge hoardings erected 20 metres or so above the ground, advertising with huge Chinese characters, cars, textiles, washing machines. A few companies had arranged an English strap line on the ads, quite who for I can't figure, but thank you to the kind folk at Kalibo Gear Hobbing Machines, International Automotive Electromechanical Plaza and Global Home Furnishings Centre. And I wonder if Sunkey Aluminium will achieve the sales boost they envisage from their investment.
The outlook, underneath a hazy smog or a smoggy haze (could tell which), was the same for the entire 200 km drive; clusters of apartment blocks 6 or so stories high surrounded by fields being farmed in small parcels of different crops, mile after mile, this is a huge country.
I was somehow reminded of being in Puyo, which Pachamama rainforest visitors will know is the last town before the forest, and yet seems to already represent all the trappings of the old dream, alive and well on the very edge of the unspoilt wilderness of the Amazon basin. Is China already one massive Puyo expanding westward and gobbling up the wisdom of their ancients, replacing it with our exported culture?
What this is really about, for me, is knowing our work in Awakening the Dreamer is every bit as important here. And I've been blessed to meet a host of great people who see the trap that we've laid for them. Some even see the irony that it is baited with Made in China goods, but all want to find a way to avoid further descent into the unsustainable dream of the modern world.
My travel bag is full of business cards I can't even read, each piece in its incomprehensible characters represents another soul alive right now to how bad it is and how much basis for hope exists. Every one of these people will do something, they might want help to see what to do or how to join their efforts to ours, but they are with us just the same. Open minded, open hearted and ready to act even more for a world which is environmentally sistainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just: partners in blessed unrest.
OK Folks - we did it!
Yesterday we ran a symposium for 800+ people predominantly Chinese but with a few from Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and other Pacific Rim countries. I worked with a simultaneous interpreter who also voiced over the videos in Chinese, and the wonderful team from Doers, our host organisation here.. The result was truly wonderful. The message landed in the way we all know and love, I was besieged by people wanting to get involved - "Do you have a branch office in China?" one guy asked. I said No, he said "You do now!" In a couple of hours I will have a meeting with the people who want to get involved. I also hope we will have the continuing support of Doers, a training company who work with DC Cordova (of TLC fame) to produce business education here and throughout the region. And we have about 10 people here who will be bringing folk to the 2 symposiums I am running in Hong Kong on Sunday and Monday. There is much excitement in the air about this, and an invitation to take the work to Singapore, a Japanese friend for Hide and even more I'm sure when we can sit (with a translator) and find out how else people want to contribute.And there has been heaps (really heaps) of learning and plenty of challenges to overcome, no sub-titled DVD, a "rough" translation, technical hiccups before and during the event, a distracted, exhausted and non-English speaking support team, going on after a speaker "as famous in China as Oprah in USA" had overrun by nearly an hour; I really saw and experienced the force of spirit at work in helping ensure a 'perfect' outcome despite the circumstances, it was as if we could transcend any problem [the interpreter said to me AS I was being introduced "I can't translate the videos (because of a technical hitch) - you'll need to do it without any video" - and even then I just knew it would fly].
And . . . I think there is some great video and some wonderful stills, plus several interviews, maybe even more today, so we've got valuable material to use, I'll be getting that shipped back to the team ASAP - (where to?).
DC and her business partner, Willson, have been generous and supportive in all of this, we owe them a huge thank you too.
Most of all I have discovered for myself the brothers and sisters we have who are Chinese, every bit as concerned, creative, inspired and inspiring as the audiences we meet in other countries. I have seen that our message can appeal to them (adaptations and translations required of course) and I can feel our work taking root here as this expression of life's call spreads.
In an ever-expanding Blessed Unrest
Jon
I have just been welcomed here in Hangzhou by 200 enthusiastic participants at the conference which will host the Symposium on Thursday. My hosts, DC Cordova and Wilson Lin, have a hugely successful business school here and have invited us to present the symposium to this 200 plus up to 800 more graduates of the school at their reunion later this week. The reception they have provided tells me we will have an engaged and positive audience for the event.
And here I am in China - a country I last visited in 1988. 20 years have made a huge difference, its almost cliche to say so, but to see the changes in person is a rich experience. There is so much to absorb, too much to start on right here, all to expand on in later posts.
Then I met David, Olympic torch bearer and a proud Chinese. He is patiently teaching me the basics of the language and helping me learn much more about the mindset of the young people who have grown up in the economic boom of the last 20 years.
And this is just the first leg of the Big Trip; as Outreach Director for the Pachamama Alliance and an ambassador of the Awakening the Dreamer Initiative I am on the road for 5 weeks to bring our work to China, and then on to New Zealand, Germany, Ireland. Exciting and potentially hugely significant in the work we do.
Now I've got to go, find my luggage, last seen in San Francisco, fix my phone to get a signal here, and peep into my Inbox to see what's following me around the world. Till next time
