A message of hope from Tom Atlee

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Subject: Hope (Forwarded by Bruce Baumrucker)

Tom Atlee Writes:

I sense we have been discouraged about the lack of community spirit and I know that for me it was beginning to wear me down to the point that I was saying "what's the point". Then as spirit would have it I heard about a book from 3 different sources in 2 days time, which of course I know from experience that it is spirit hitting me over the head (I'm a 3 hit person!)

The book was "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. It changed my life and my outlook on the future. We are the creators of a NEW culture. Not an easy task, but a very exciting one. It is not about trying to preserve the old but to usher in the new. The old is obviously not working, and thank God for Y2K, otherwise we would have probably followed our destructive way of life right off the cliff. My focus is to build a new "culture", which is going to take time.

Ishmael describes us as the "taker" society. One that has been struggling for ten thousand years to invent a lifestyle that works, but of course has obviously failed. In "My Ishael" (the sequel, I've been very busy reading) Ishmael describes our society as one that attributes "wealth" with money, when in fact the root meaning of "wealth" is "Well". In terms of products we are very wealthy in this society, but in terms of wellness we are the poorest of the poor. When we are dealing with Y2K we are focusing on all the "things" we are going to have to give up. Our focus should be on all the things we are going to gain. Here's a great quote-

"You need to demand for yourselves the wealth that the aboriginal people all over the world are willing to die to defend. You need to demand for yourselves the wealth that humans had from the beginning, that they took for granted for hundreds of thousands of years. You need to demand for yourselves the wealth you threw away in order to make yourselves the rulers of the world. But you can't demand this from your leaders. Your leaders aren't withholding it, they don't have it to give to you. This is how you must differ from the revolutionaries of the past, who simply wanted different people to be running things. You can't solve your problem by putting someone new in charge." "Demand it of yourselves. Tribal wealth is the energy that tribal members give each other in order to keep the tribe going. This energy is inexhaustible, a completely renewable resource."

This book has quite literally changed my focus and my outlook, Larry. It is a tool I highly recommend for Y2K. I am now in the process of gathering my tribe together and I can not worry about those who wish to remain in the "taker" society. As Ishael describes it, people are in a prison and they do not even realize it, but as soon as you open the door it will be like opening a flood gate and all those people will come rushing out of their self imposed prison and into freedom. All we have to do is open the door. That is where I feel are biggest work is now. We need to create a new culture!

Well, that's where I'm at. It seems strange to talk about it, and I hope I've made some sense. I'm a little excited about this new adventure and I'm not quite sure how to explain it, probably because I haven't quite figured it out for myself yet. Anyway, I hope you get the book and both you and Judy read it. In fact buy both so you can read them at the same time. You will have some great new and refreshing ideas to discuss, which will be a welcome relief from discussing the latest news from the Y2K pull the wool over our eyes front! The sun is shining! It's a great day!

In Love and Peace, Ann

Tom Atlee * The Co-Intelligence Institute * Oakland, CA http://www.co-intelligence.org * http://www.co-intelligence.org/Y2K.html

-- Daren Henderson (TEAMRUSH@aol.com), March 26, 1999


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