Archive for Social Excellence

Creative Engagement handout for Theater Conference

May 14, 2012 / admin / No comments

Heres a handout i’m sharing with people today attending the Bay Area Theater Conference:

http://www.theatrebayarea.org/Programs/Annual-Conference.cfm

……

Barron Scott Levkoff aka Professor Violet     profviolet@gmail.com
‘…quality of play is a direct reflection on HOW YOU PLAY…’

- James Carse

Personal writings and projects: www.mysticmidway.com
Our recent Mythic Adventure in Palenque, Mexico: www.palenque2012.org
Our ‘uniquely San Franisco’ event production company: www.themoralminority.net
Our ‘sexy arty party’ spreading across the globe: www.kinkysalon.com
Our community run venue in The Mission, SF: www.missioncontrolsf.org
Our free PDF download of The Beauty Engine Guidebook: http://beautyengine.org/the-book/

Inquiries:
As we move from a consumer based culture into a CREATOR CULTURE, how can we embrace THE POWER OF PLAY and CREATIVE COMMUNITY as means for accelerating this shift?
How can we give people the means to co-create deeply meaningful ‘MYTHIC’ experiences for themselves and others?
How can understanding of the narratives and techniques working ‘behind the curtains’ of popular entertainment & traditions such as street fair and festivals, improv, living history models, costume cultures, gaming culture, flashmobs and the multitude of creative communities emerging today inform our efforts in crafting better experiences…ones crafted OF, BY and FOR the participants, ones in which all participants come out transformed?
What lessons can we learn from the triumphs and mistakes of our innovative, playful, creative communities?
What tools & principles can we embrace as facilitators to encourage ‘authentic presence, abundant behavior, heartfelt connection, spirited collaboration, and the sharing of gifts’?

A few tools & techniques  for crafting deeper, more engaging experiences…

  • Hold the intention for possibility & transformation- ‘all things are crouched in eagerness to realize their potential…’
  • Weave an ‘inviting openness’ into your creations
  • Let the participants know that their creativity is an essential part of the experience
  • Host & curate using creative themes, playful containers, inspiring playing fields- ‘celebration as alchemical vehicles…’
  • Make the rules of play transparent, invite the players to help craft them- ‘…infinite players play WITH rules…’
  • Empower the players to maintain and uphold these rules or ‘dynamics’- ‘distribute accountability amongst the community’
  • As directors and leaders, be sure to play at your own game- players don’t trust ‘Game masters’ who refuse to play by their own game rules
  • Always keep the center open and invite surprise, potential, possibility, innovation & MYSTERY
  • Integrate the findings, discoveries, creative value and reflections earned through PLAY…back into your game!

A few inspiring books and resources:
Finite and Infinite Games: A vision of life as play and possibility- James Carse
The Engineers of the Imagination Tony Coult and Baz Kershaw  
The Death and Resurrection show: From shaman to superstar, Rogan P Taylor
The Theater of The Marvelous: Surrealism and The Contemporary Stage- Gloria Orenstein
Psychomagic:The Transformative Power of Shamanic Psychotherapy – Alejandro Jodorowsky
Ariel Spilsbury- The 13 Moon Oracle

Category: creative engagement, Creator Culture, Experience Design, mythic adventure, Professor Violet, Social Excellence, The Infinite Game / Tags:

The Beauty Engine Book- FREE PDF DOWNLOAD

May 10, 2012 / admin / No comments

Here’s the PDF dowload of the original Beauty Engine book in its first format.

Feels a little outdated now but its still gots lots of good stuff and the outline and tools of how we craft creative community and experiences still holds up nicely!

It contains much of the science behind how we produced our recent PALENQUE 2012 event.

http://beautyengine.org/the-book/

 

Category: abundant behavior, Big Vision, Commentary, Creator Culture, Experience Design, mythic adventure, Professor Violet, Radical Collaboration, Social Excellence, The Infinite Game, Uncategorized / Tags:

Post Palenque 2012 MYTHIC ADVENTURE…thoughts

May 1, 2012 / admin / No comments

What i did on my Palenque Vacation
or
PALENQUE 2012,  A Super Fun Mythic Adventure of Evolutionary Proportions

Palenque 2012 was the culmination of a kind of social experience i’ve been looking for for over 15 years.
I’ve been attempting to integrate the experiences i had on the trip for almost a month now and am still reeling from the many profound gifts and inspirations i received. What a doozy!
I am SO GRATEFUL to all those that contributed their time, energy, resources, inspiration, gifts, support, creativity, goodwill, vision, prayers and blessings in pulling off so beautifully what was a TRULY ASTOUNDING MYTHIC ADVENTURE!

Here are the top three most successful aspects of the PALENQUE 2012 MYTHIC ADVENTURE which really stand out in my mind:

#1 CELEBRATION AS AN EVOLUTIONARY VEHICLE!
So what do i mean by this?
I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing and participating in some pretty amazing social events over the past 25 years. I’ve seen celebration serve both  personal and collective evolution for many years now. I’ve been studying the qualities of these events that have had a profoundly positive effect on my consciousness and very intentionally wove in their  techniques, tools and scripts into PALENQUE 2012 with Polly. I guess i really am an ‘pro-human activist’ of sorts in this regard and our Mythic Adventure helped me to realize this.
We celebrated AND we evolved. Well, i did.
I had deeply mythic experiences which transformed me and i have come out the other side changed. From what i’ve gathered so far, most of the other players have as well.  I came back more devoted to the power of creative community and mythic experience than ever before.
The Science of Celebration worked well in PALENQUE!
Sometimes we forget to nurture our intentions and allow ‘the party’ to numb us rather than help us to wake up, but this was not one of those occasions.
May we continue to come together in celebration of what it is to be fully human and ALIVE, to celebrate in creative, conscious community and to WAKE UP TOGETHER!

..or in Caroline Casey’s words regarding celebration as an evolutionary force-
‘we’re ready for the lightning of Reverent Ingenuity to strike the circle (of how we gather) into a spiral of the next creative experimental realm of applied mojo.’

 

#2 Creative engagement played a major role!
I think if someone were to ask me what my Spirituality was, i would have to say-
‘being creative’.
I find that creativity puts me in touch with Purpose, Beauty, Strength, Wonder, Mystery, Awe …and for lack of a better word ‘The Divine’,  more than anything else in my life.
Creativity brings a sense of purpose and meaning to my life that gives me the means by which to connect with my fellow persons in a way that nothing else can.
Exploring my creativity continues to provide me access to the flowing currents of life, light, energy and inspiration that fuels ALL  my work and play!
So naturally i was very happy at how creativity played a key role at the event by giving all of us the chance to connect within ourselves to our inner currents & energies…and then join that energy outwards with each other.
It was really inspiring to watch our group connect with the  locals through the process of creating art together…it created the most wonderful vibe!
The event was crafted in a way that enabled everyone to participate in ways that were suited to their comfort levels as well as gently encouraging them to explore new avenues and modes of expression.

#3 The spirit of THE GIFT!
This was probably the biggest source of SHIFT that occurred in my consciousness.
Being immersed in a heartfelt container in which people were sometimes falling over themselves  to share…was healing, inspiring, nurturing and affirming on many levels.
Polly and I hosted PALENQUE 2012 as a gift to our community & the world as an intentional act of AFFIRMATION towards GIFTING and GIFT CULTURE.
Now don’t get me wrong, i had misgivings about creating an event for free for my friends and was hesitant to come onboard at first. Polly set out with laying down the groundwork of the event before i was even convinced it was a good idea!
I’ve noticed in creative communities that there is a lot of heated dialogue right now around ‘being valued’ for your gifts and ‘getting paid’.
Now the thing is, creating experiences is MY ART and it GIVES ME JOY…so if i always wait around to get paid to do what i do…i’m not going to be doing what i love as much as i would like to!
Its a sort of ‘Catch 22′ many creative people get stuck into.
I notice that when i get stuck in the ‘am i getting paid?’ mentality my access to my ART, MY CRAFT and MY ENTHUSIASM drops drastically. So finally i decided “F*** IT, lets do it!’
I also thought- ‘hey, its 2012 for goodness sake and we’ve been invited to host an invite near the Maya Pyramids with a group of creative, fun friends for Spring Equinox, WHATS MY FRICKIN PROBLEM!!!??’
That voice of scarcity and fear is strong though, isn’t it? It persisted up to and even into the event itself. In Palenque, when i was tired and overwhelmed with the tasks at hand…i found myself saying-
‘OH FOR GODS SAKE I’M NOT EVEN GETTING PAID FOR THIS ____!’
Being immersed in a temporary community dedicated to the sharing of gifts and creating art/ was not only incredibly healing (and reminded me of another dusty event back in the 1990’s) but ACCELERATED MY DESIRE TO SHARE EVEN MORE.
….

The following also played a huge role in making the event a success, in my mind:
Palenque 2012 was:

  •  A true reflection of the participants.
  • Embraced a spirit of playful adventure, exploration
  • A Loosely facilitated collaborative structure with accountable players
  • A rich dialogue between the SACRED and PROFANE
  • Wove intention into the mix (through ritual, ceremony, offerings, blessings, prayers and meditations) in ways that weren’tt creepy or too heavy handed.
  • SUPER FUN
  • not only ‘LEFT NO TRACE’ but LEFT THE CONTAINER BETTER THAN WE FOUND IT!

Personally speaking, Palenque 2012 was the ‘Burning Man’ experience i’ve always wanted!
It’s true that, in part, PALENQUE 2012 was a constructive response as a community builder and experience designer to early formative experiences i had out in the desert.
My first time on the playa back in 1997 my camp burned down and was replaced WITHIN HOURS by the POWER OF THE GIFT. A very humbling and profound awakening for me then!
Radical Self-Expression, a core tenant central to The BMAN Festival serves its purpose to an extent…but what about RADICAL COLLABORATION and RADICAL PRESENCE?
The EGO can only shout over each other for so long, like the proverbial art cars, blasting louder and louder and louder…
Caroline Casey herself said recently in regards to the ENVISON FESTIVAL down in Costa Rica-
‘how can a festival that blast thousands of watts of sound on multiple speakers in the rain forest be called REVERENT?’
….

My experience in Palenque gave me a powerful dose of the value of both COLLABORATION and HEARTFELT PRESENCE.
It reminded me that as Stewards & Pioneers of community science & ‘party-as-achemical-vehicle’…its is VITAL that we tend to the feminine aspects of our pursuits.
Nurturing the reflective, watery, ‘YIN’, heartfelt, emotional, process-oriented, communicative, ‘being fully present’ aspect of outward community action yields a quality of experience otherwise not possible!

We are in times that say- CHANGE OR DIE, so forgive me if i’m hurting anyone’s feelings.
Its not me that’s throwing down the gauntlet, i feel it is EVOLUTION ITSELF inviting us to STEP UP OUR GAME. (literally in our case!!!)

PALENQUE 2012 showed me that these two paths, CELEBRATION and EVOLUTION when woven together, enliven the other in ways that ARE UNIMAGINABLY AWESOME!

Category: abundant behavior, Big Vision, Commentary, Creator Culture, Experience Design, gift economy, Professor Violet, Radical Collaboration, Social Excellence, The Infinite Game /

Palenque 2012 Mythic Adventurer’s Handbook

March 6, 2012 / admin / No comments


Palenque 2012 Mythic Adventurers Handbook
from Professor Violet
www.palenque2012.org
www.mysticmidway.com

Palenque 2012- an invitation to Mythic Adventure
Palenque 2012 has rolled out into an artistic expression of people coming together to celebrate Maya Culture,  collaborate creatively and celebrate community as an evolutionary agent for change.
One of our intentions for this event is for all participants to experience the value of participating in community that supports creative collaboration and celebrates each others authentic expressions & gifts.
When Heros venture out on mythic adventures they come back with amazing stories and laden with golden gifts…what stories and gifts will YOU bring back?
Come dive with us into the incredibly lush landscape of Palenque 2012 and into mythic realms frequented by fantastic characters, bewildering realities and untold treasures!
Its MYTHIC ADVENTURE TIME!

Preparing for your Mythic Adventure
So onwards and inwards to adventure!!
This event invites us as creative players to step deeper into the realms of MYTHIC ADVENTURE.
What mythic personas might you embody: Hero, Shaman, Priestess, Fool, Mythic Explorer, Dionysian Mystic, Goddess…?
What gifts of INNER GOLD might we share or discover on our path?
How might we use our INNER GOLD to meet the mythic challenges that might face us?
How might we help our fellow players in wielding their INNER GOLD?
What dreams or visions might we like to explore in the fabulous mythic setting of Palenque?
As EXPERIENCE DESIGNERS, what kind of experiences might we be able to host for others and thus raise the level of  MYTHIC GOODNESS for everyone?
What will we bring back out of the jungle afterwards as CHAMPIONS of CREATOR CULTURE?
How might we embrace THE CREATIVE PROCESS in service to our adventures?

The Mythic Adventure Totem Areas- ‘setting the stage for adventure’
Perhaps you’ve prepared some sort of  artistic offering ahead of time, thought a little about how you want to play and what you might  like to experience on your adventure.
We invite you to explore the
The totem areas of the Palenque 2012 event site are designed to assist us in diving deeper into our experience.
7 areas, each with their distinct vibe and focus, will provide a landscape for our inner heroes journey as well as space for the social alchemy of our group to unfold.
These social areas, prepared by fellow participants the week before the event will give people a place to hang out, connect, create, host and share various kinds of experiences.
As experience designers, we know that these kind of social spaces are essential in allowing connection, stories and sharing to unfold…each a vibrant thread weaving into the whole.
What MYTHIC TAPESTRY will we weave together?

Look for the simple guidelines, questions, activity suggestions and Totem animal images marking each area!

Mythic Adventure Questions
These questions will help you identify the archetypes (various persona’s and mythic characters), challenges, treasures and wisdom you may encounter on your adventure!
The Mythic PLAYERS
Who are you and what role do you play on the Mythic stage of your life (or at least on this adventure)?
What archetypal qualities do you have?
Mythic name? Bonus points for origin story & personal manifesto!
(We have many selves…describe one you wish to share now)
Your ALLIES
Who are the allies that you draw strength, support and inspiration from?
An ally can be any person or being but may also be a quality or concept.
Your INNER GOLD
What inner gold shines within you?
What form of gift does your inner gold take on in the world?
Your SHADOW MEDICINE
What shadows have you or are you now facing within yourself?
What keeps you from your inner gold?
EMBRACING THE MYSTERY
How do you embrace uncertainty, experience beyond understanding and that which is beyond knowing?
Why would you?
Getting ALCHEMICAL
What affords you the power of transformation in your life?
How do you wield you INNER GOLD to embrace change and fluidity?
Your PRESCRIPTIONS
Name something that has helped you bring your inner gold into the world.
It could be a practice, an inspiration, an activity, a saying, an ally…etc.
STEWARDSHIP
How do you serve others and/or your community?
In what ways do you support others in realizing their inner gold?
INVITATIONS
What invitations do you wish to extend to others?
Invitations to journey, to play, to create, to explore, to ….

Getting MYTHIC
So what is it that brings adventure into the MYTHIC REALM?
When people think about the term MYTHIC they usually think of ‘make believe’ or ‘fantasy’.
We are using the term MYTHIC to suggest looking at ourselves and life in new ways.
We are inviting you to go a little deeper, open a little wider to new things and venture out a little further than you might normally.
What ARCHETYPES, persona’s and mythic players move within you and your life in ways that perhaps you have not noticed before?
What signs, messengers, portents, challenges and inititations await you on this adventure?
Let the Totem Animal areas at the Palenque event inspire you in sharing stories, tuning into new ideas, new viewpoints and to consider life from new perspectives!
As brave adventurers into new times, what INNER GOLD have you discovered within yourself that you can share with others?
Even if you feel like you havn’t figured out what your INNER GOLD looks like yet, by just being willing to take a HEROIC  look inside yourself- you begin to glow, alight and inspire others to do the same!

What does ‘Mythic Adventure’ mean to you?
For me, ‘Mythic Adventure’ means diving into deeply meaningful, transformational experiences in which i get to truly play THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME, living as fully as i can dream!
Mythic Adventures are drenched in BEAUTY, filled with AWE and reveal WONDERS that awaken us and MARVELOUS moments that INSPIRE us.
We rise together to meet the challenges of our lives by embracing and sharing our INNER GOLD, that inner fire which illuminates and animates us.
By calling upon our INNER GOLD, we find the means to meet the players, challenges and initiations life presents us with GRACE and MASTERY.
By embodying as MYTHIC PLAYERS, we find ourselves, again and again, waking as both playwright and player, in cowritten stories of INFINITE SCOPE.
Embracing ‘THE MYTHIC’ dares us to expand and open to the ECSTATIC POSSIBILITIES of life.
Are YOU the HERO in the EPIC movie of your life?

Creator Culture ON THE RISE
Palenque 2012 is a reflection of what is unfolding around the planet today.
Creative communities everywhere are rallying in celebration of THE INNER GOLD, MYTHIC ADVENTURE, MYTHIC PLAYERS and all these good things…though they might refer to them in different terms.
So what happens when all these Mythic Adventurers, experience designers and creative communities start connecting in conscious conversation and collaboration?
A Creator Culture begins to emerge!
As it rises, so too does the invitation for everyone to become experience designing, culture building, tool sharing and creatively engaged players!
Creator Culture does not reject Consumer Culture, no;  it has the ability to digest and integrate old FINITE games (defined by winners and losers) into a NEW INFINITE GAME (defined by increasing the quality of play for all players- James Carse)
Creator Culture welcomes everyone into the play, encourages all of its players to become thoroughly engaged.
Creator Culture recognizes the latent seeds of renewal and goodness everywhere, in everything and in everyone!
When we are creatively engaged we are filled with a life affirming desire to connect to, purify and share those expressions and perceptions that fill us with delight, fill us with life.

Community operates as a lamp for holding the luminosity of our INNER GOLD when consciously stewarded through the science of good experience design,
Healthy creative community (defined: from com munus- to share freely amongst one another) becomes an alchemical vehicle which puts CREATION FIRE into service of the abundant FUTURE NOW that we all dream of!

Many of the most successful communities i’ve encountered  support their participants in facing challenges, discovering and sharing their INNER GOLD.
When Heros’ face challenges in the underworld, they come back transformed through the process…shining with INNER GOLD and incredible stories…
What about whole communities sharing Mythic Adventures together, what would THAT yield?
Communities BECOMING GOLD TOGETHER??
Creative communities have the power to change how we live together on this planet by innovating NEW METHODS in how we can play together nicely and introducing them back into society.
Competitive modes of PLAY are proving themselves to be obsolete and only useful to the few at the top.
It seems like JUST COMMON SENSE that creative communities that honor THE INNER GOLD will rise in response to everything thats going on in the world today!
Communities that celebrate what we all value are on the rise, ones that value each others gifts, moments of quality connection, robust sharing, simple principles, visions, altruism…happiness and freedom for all.
May our culture may find ever deeper access to the well springs of renewal necessary to navigate these complex and challenging times by supporting creative communities dedicated to the increasing the flow of our INNER GOLD.
Lets step into this dawn together and rise to meet this Spring Equinox dawn in our fullest potential.

Bringing back THE GOLD
What will we take back with us when our week has passed?
What will we be able to share with others when we’ve returned to the ‘Default World’ as the participants of The Burning man Festival call the ‘real’ world?
These kind of shared community experiences, like this one in Palenque we’ve cocreated, The Burning Man Festival and others….creative gatherings which celebrate  ‘the flow of gifts freely amongst one another’,  remind us of the true meaning & value of community.
We come away enlivened  in ways that feel really, really good.
The world is hungry for the innovative fruits this type of creative community exploration has to offer!
Let us take our INNER GOLD back, hold the gates to Mythic Adventure & possibility open and take this inspiration into the challenges of today’s world, warmed by compassion’s imagination and the light of dawn light on our brows.
Let us celebrate and support each other on every level of our adventure into the HEART of THE WONDERFUL MYSTERY….and see how good OUR COLLECTIVE STORY can get.
…for there is no way you cannot have an influence on the world!
Whether you realize it or not, EVERYDAY you make decisions which affect the quality of your adventure.
Every time we join in any form of social experience we are showing up as collaborators in crafting those experiences.
Consider that you are always the architect of your OWN incredible experiences!
Consider that YOU have more of a impact in the world around you and especially to those immediately close to you, than you realize!
James Carse, author of Finite and Infinite Games, said it best-
‘Quality of play is a direct reflection on HOW WE PLAY’

By taking an active role in raising the quality of experience for others and not justourselves, we contribute to a win-win real world scenario where-
‘…more for you is not less for me, but more for you is more for me too!’
Charles Eisenstein- Sacred Economics

With GRATITUDE
I am SO very grateful to the many players involved with helping this event come to fruition.
First, huge gratitude to my Palenque 2012 co-producer, Polly Superstar, who has been an amazing mythic ally on this adventure!
Thank you to the amazing land and place of Palenque.
Thank you to Carol and the folks at the Maya Exploration Center, Don Moises, Chatos and El Panchan for hosting us!
Thank you to the local peoples, the guides and experts who have shared their wisdom and passion with us.
May we all be open to receive wisdom that can aid and guide us on our paths of growth and transformation.
I wish to give thanks to the many elders, guides, mentors and tricksters that have patiently offered their wisdom to me over the years.

By embodying wisdom and being open to RECEIVE, may we transform knowledge into living art, bring life back in balance with the heart, into practice and into community.
As we learn to balance our lunar and solar natures, our masculine and feminine aspects, our light and dark sides… may we also move back into balance with nature as well.

Lets celebrate & share what works for us, what has been gifted to and through us, with the intention of supporting each other in cocreating the deepest, most meaningful and rich Mythic Adventures possible…
and bring everyone into The Play!

Category: Creator Culture, Experience Design, gift economy, heros journey, mythic adventure, Professor Violet, Radical Collaboration, Social Excellence, The Infinite Game, Uncategorized /

The League of Social Excellence pt 1

February 5, 2012 / admin / No comments

‘The League of SOCIAL EXCELLENCE- Vol. 1

An introductory pocket guide on ‘generally being ones’ best’ at social gatherings.A compilation of tips, tools, thoughts and techniques gathered from guests at the latest ‘THE LEAGUE’ salon session at Mission Control, on a recent Dandylogical expedition by Professor Dandy.

On a recent chilly winters evening in the Mission District of San Francisco, THE LEAGUE brought together a splendid diversity of Dandies, Gentlefolk, Ladies, Bohemians, Dilettantes, Fops, Femmes Fatales, Muses and otherwise nattily dressed persons.
Mission Control, home to many excellent explorations in social evolution, hosted this scandalously spectacular event by and for those who make Mission Control possible: allies, volunteers, crew, and our very special guests. The dreamers, dancers, leaders, visionaries, and achievers who move the world towards sexy evolution, and this was their night.
Mission Controls’ very own ‘Co-Flounder’- Professor Dandy aka Barron Scott hosted a mercifully brief foray on the topic of SOCIAL EXCELLENCE and gathered suggestions from the excellently dressed guests present at the Salon.
The following notes are distilled directly from the guests comments.
This first volume addresses the following aspects of Social Excellence-
‘Self Presentation, Gifts and Engaging’
It is in this narrators humble opinion that many left feeling inspired by the wisdom freely shared amongst one another that night.
May the pursuit of SOCIAL EXCELLENCE lift and inspire all those who come in contact with its practice!

Qualities of ‘Social Excellence’ as defined by the Ladies and Gentlefolk of the salon-
Question:
What are the qualities of one that is ‘Socially Excellent’?
Answers:
GRACEFUL, POISED, STYLISH, DIGNIFIED, RESPECTFUL, LISTENING, PRESENT, EMPATHIC, MANNERED, CREATIVE and WITTY

On ‘Self Presentation’;
Question:
What are the various ways one might prepare oneself for entering into the social arena?
(Note that the ‘getting ready to go out ritual; is both an external and internal process of preparation!)
Answers:
Be well GROOMED and hygienic
Be CONFIDENT and TRUST YOURSELF.
ENJOY YOURSELF and remember to have fun.
BE AUTHENTIC and genuine
Remember good POSTURE.
BE RELAXED AND COMFORTABLE
When dressing, SHARE WHAT INSPIRES YOU WITH OTHERS
GIVE EFFORT IN HOW YOU DRESS
Need help or ideas on preparing for a certain outing? Do not be afraid to reach out and ask a friend for help!
DON’T FORGET HATS AND ACCESSORIES!

ON GIFTS;
Question:
‘What are some of the gifts one can you bring to any social occasion?’
(Note: by gifts, i mean anything that can be offered or shared with others at a social gathering. It is interesting to note that most of the ‘gifts’ suggested here are not tangible objects but rather, behaviors or qualities)
Answers:
COMPLIMENTS
SUPPORT
HUMILITY
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
ACCEPTANCE
A GENUINE EMBRACE
A SMILE
Mints, gum
Your CARD.
A quality drink to share.
CONSENSUAL ADVICE.
This topic of ‘offering advice’ was one that the guests were quite passionate about!
Specifically, those present felt that giving unsolicited advice or constructive criticism was frowned upon in general.
The general consensus was to ALWAYS make sure you have the express permission of those asking.
Finding ways in which one could offer up a thought or observation to another was of much discussion. Most present felt that advice should take the form of ‘sharing’ or ‘encouragement’ rather than direct, pointed commentary and avoid coming off as ‘opinionated or judgemental’

On ‘Engaging others’
Question:
What are some socially excellent ways one can engage others in a social setting?
Answers:
Treat others in the manner you would wish to be treated.
be sure to enjoy yourself and don’t try too hard.
Remember to LISTEN. Be sure to tune into what a group or individual might be saying before just baring in with your own discourse. ‘SPEAK from the LISTENING’ and not just from your EGO.
Always be sure to observe any agreements particular to that social setting. This may mean taking an extra moment when you arrive to find out what they may be.
Take effort to make a genuine connection.
Defy expectation.
When asking people questions, don’t interrogate them!
Always be sure to include others that may be present in a situation. This means being sensitive to those that may be feeling more awkward than you!
What can you do to help others feel included in a social situation that may appear feeling left out?

Category: Professor Dandy, Social Excellence / Tags:

The Palenque 2012 Experience Designers Notebook- intro

February 5, 2012 / admin / No comments

 

2012- The Year of Experience Design or ‘lets create amazing experiences together’
One of my intentions with these upcoming posts is to share my enthusiasm for EXPERIENCE DESIGN and  the various and sundry tips & techniques necessary to do so!

Polly and i met recently at the downtown office for CAUSES.COM where one of their lead development guys asked us what we thought the ‘next big thing’ was in the field of social media and social networking, I offered-  ‘giving people the means to create and share meaningful experiences with one another’.
PALENQUE 2012 is a unique chance for us all to share what really turns us on, to reveal our magical gifts, to dream and craft mythic experiences together.
As a social innovator, event producer and experience designer for over 20 years now…i’ve witnessed at the heart of most communities and creative social gatherings a sort of SPARKING FIRE; a radiance generated by loving connection, by the sharing of gifts and stories, by the creation of ART, by people coming together to celebrate what they love, who they love and how they love to live.
Its an irresistible kind

of fire that spreads, a kind of luminosity that sparks between us.
Why not tune into this energy as a presiding theme to our mythic adventure?
THIS is the vibe/energy/theme/feeling upon which i’ve dedicated my efforts towards PALENQUE 2012.
We create the world. We build culture. We are creative. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
We’re all realizing this more and more all the time.
Lets get crafting!
The artful science of experience design  builds in quality the MORE PLAYERS YOU HAVE ONBOARD.
Experience design is a field many of you are versed in as well, though you might not realize it!
I see more and more people every day stepping onto the playing field as experience designers.
Its most inspiring!
You don’t even need to understand what the heck i’m talking about here because ALL of you have experienced what i’m talking about before…perhaps at one of our experiences/events/parties, perhaps out on the playa or elsewhere…but you can feel it… the Infinite Game at work.
You can feel it working first hand, feel that sparking fire present when creative people gather and you’ll leave wanting more…

What’s the INFINITE GAME, might you ask?
-’The Infinite Game is  one in which every player seeks to increase the quality of play for every other player’
James Carse, INFINITE and FINITE GAMES
CONFESSION: I am an addict of the INFINITE GAME and i’ve been getting others addicted to it for years now.!
This year i believe we are going to see a surge in the spread of regenerative social memes, trends and movements that support creative community participation or in other words- THE RISE OF THE INFINITE GAME.
So why not  get EVERYONE addicted to creating these kinds of experiences for others?

You are an experience designer, yes you.
Whether you realize it or not, everyday you make decisions which affect the quality of your daily journey.
Every day your interactions with others and what stories you reflect upon when you lie in bed at night.

Before you even step out your door in the morning you’ve made decisions which will affect the quality of your day.
Every time you join in any form of social experience you are showing up as collaborator in crafting that experience.
In fact, there is no way you cannot influence your social experience.
There is another  saying that Polly and i  love and live by, one that really sums up why we are so devoted to creative, participation based experiences.

‘Quality of play is a direct reflection on HOW WE PLAY’
James Carse-Finite and Infinite Games

Witnessing people learn and grow from direct participation in community can be inspiring, and getting consciously involved with this process as an experience designer, first hand, can be REALLY inspiring.
There’s nothing like it.
Not only that, but one of the real benefits that i’ve noticed is the incredibly honed reflection

you receive for your own actions, your own style of PLAY.
I ’m not talking about an ego-strokes here, (though there is a certain selfish satisfaction in appreciating an experience you’ve crafted…)
Are you showing up as a consumer or a creator of your experiences?
Are you moving blindly through your day, repeating the same patterns over and over and making decisions based out of fear when you keep telling yourself otherwise?
Are you showing up to the feast of life merely to grab what you can or are you bringing a tasty, exquisite dish to share with everyone?
Simple logic, right? Play consciously, live consciously.
Play unconsciously, good luck with what you can expect!

END OF PART 1

 

Category: Big Vision, Experience Design, Social Excellence, The Infinite Game / Tags: , , , ,

A Beauty Engine MANIFESTO

February 21, 2011 / admin / No comments


Beauty Engine invites you to participate in a Revolution of Human Excellence- an exuberant explosion of collective intelligence, creativity, altruism, intention and goodness…
If you’re listening, if you’re tuned in..
Then you’re part of it already…yes, you-
inspiring in your own unique and radiant way.
An agent of the Evolutionary Fire now washing over the entire Planet…

 

 

HEY! DID YOU HEAR THAT?
…It’s the big giant switch being flipped on-
the Light of Lights being turned on…
the Sun, rising in the Heart of a Humanity growing up,
blossoming from our cocoon …so here we go, here we rise…
buoyant, winged, ready, ripe and juicy.
Our sleeves are rolled up, a wild motley of Johnny Appleseeds,
ready to tend Earth as the Garden it was meant to be…

Say with me…’I feel worthy of this, yes I do.
In my heart of hearts, I feel worthy for this,
I Am Ready To Rock, this is why I am here, this is what I have trained for.

The BEAUTY ENGINE VISION-
Imagine a collaborative art project embracing the whole of Humanity…calling upon the collective creativity, goodwill, wisdom, intention and positivity of communities everywhere…A tapestry of Cocreation being woven across the entire planet.

Beauty Engine sees potential and mastery in everyone,
Beauty Engine sees all beings as social artists,
Beauty Engine sees freedom and accountability going hand in hand,
Beauty Engine sees creativity as a primary element in tempering all social technologies,
Beauty Engine serves to assist in the circulation of Humanities wisdom, goodwill, abundance and creativity.

The good news is that all of us already play some part within the Beauty Engine.
With each of our unique pieces, we bring illumination which reflects in each other, amplifies one another, harmonizes with each other as an infinitely diverse, exquisitely unified family….a Cocreation glowing with an ever growing luminosity.

Beauty Engine reveals through direct experience the wonder of Cocreation.
Cocreation being, we feel, The Most Abundant Force on Earth.

It is beyond all mental concepts, the power and value of Cocreation.
Personally, I  suspect it may be the Will of Love itself, a fail safe program, a open secret of mind blowing proportions pulsing and spinning at the heart of all things.
I’ve seen Cocreation at work a thousand times…and you have too, that something that accelerates when you bring good things and people together, when openness accelerates off of enthusiastic creativity…. when childlike positivity wins out over hesitation, doubt and apathy.
Some say its scientific; this mutually amplifying, accelerating, quantum phenomenon of harmonious process and fluidic balance.

LOOK TO YOURSELF, FIRST
You are a modern individual, discerning and truly experienced.
You are a mastercrafter of persona, nuanced, versatile, expressive.
You move through life fluidly, authentic, passionate.
You are who you wish to be. You create Beauty, coexist with its source.
Life is your canvas, you exist To Be-artfully.
As a Social Artist, IDENTITY is your medium..the canvas you present to society.
You want to be part of something good , something positive, something worthwhile.
This is where it starts.

POWER FLOWS THROUGH US
No-one ever took your True Power from you-
And you never gave it away.
Relax and be what you truly are,
Relax and just let it flow through you.
Share it forward. Give it away
The more you share your mojo, your lightning, your medicine, your Sacred Fire, your ‘Juice’…. the more it will flow through you.
Don’t be stingy….let it flow, bring it on.
This Feels Good.

LET IT CIRCULATE
Feel ‘The Tree’ that we are together,
filling and flowing with lightning sap,
When we open up to receive each other’s power
allowing the medicine flow between us,
feel as vulnerability reveals ever greater strength,
as our openness reveals untold Abundance.
Here Beauty Engine becomes Medicine Bottle, available to all
to be passed around by caring hands, that we may partake freely.

ASSEMBLE,  PEOPLE
Face to face, folks…thats where the magic happens,
where we really get to savor the worth of our efforts.
Humans are a totally amazing technology best experienced live.
Come meet your colleagues, The Collective Avatars,
the communities bringing the New World into existence.
Here is where we demonstrate our willingness to play…
here is where we state our readiness for collective action,
ready to witness each others Mastery.

NOW WE ACTIVATE
How nice that we have a Universe to play in!
So many adventures, so much time!
Where shall we go, what Beauty shall we cocreate together?
(oh, didn’t you know THAT is the meaning of life?)
Come, share your wisdom with your colleagues and evolutionary playmates.
Share your love of creating experiences with your friends and communities,
Share them, pass them along!
Wisdom, Kindness, Compassion, True Power, Loving Attention and Experience are the coin of the realm here.

AT THE CENTER OF THE GARDEN, THE GOLDEN APPLES
So here, we return to the beginning-
‘arriving, never left, but always forgetting’
This is where we find ourselves sparking with evolutionary fire,
ready to carry the flame seeds of cocreation into the world.
This is where we ask ‘how can I participate?’
This is where we find ourselves ready to serve.

Behold, on a tree in Beauty Engine’s Garden, The Golden Apple.
These Golden Apples are invitation from The Beauty Engine itself,
inviting us to take a bite.
Taste the apple, become the invitation.
Model Cocreation through artful living.

Here we become both the gardeners and the garden, growing with goodness.
Bearers of The Golden Apple are the fertile, twining tendrils of Beauty Engine itself going into the world….
Beauty Engine Guides, as they are called, are teachers, enthusiasts, stewards, advocates, promoters, and community builders…all joined by a desire to serve , a passion for seeing potential revealed and a shared love of cocreation.
You will know them by their gold stars (hmmm, maybe it should be a gold apple?)

Here is where we go under the hood of THE BEAUTY ENGINE itself…and find out just how deep the rabbit hole really goes.
Here is where you find that Beauty Engine is an open system which invites direct participation in its process of distillation and refinement.
Here is where you find a great repository of practical methods, visionary solutions and community wisdom that grows in value as more people use it and add to it.
Here is where you can access the tools, wisdom and networks of The Beauty Engine.

EPILOGUE
You bristle with Evolutionary Fire, seeds in your hand-
You burst at the heart with a desire to explore the stars
‘Beauty is everywhere’, you realize…
Step up, no-one can claim your Sovereignty for you!
Stand in magnificence and allow the stars to shower upon you

‘I Am Worthy’, you say

The Star Council is ready to welcome you,
Evolutionary Operators- standing by…
We’ve been expecting you.

Category: Big Vision, Creator Culture, gift economy, heros journey, Professor Violet, Radical Collaboration, Social Excellence, The Infinite Game, Uncategorized / Tags: ,
 
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