I went to a workshop this morning entitled, Toward Sustainable Development. It was, thankfully, quite productive. We managed to introduce ourselves in less than half an hour, and then broke up into small groups to discuss different aspects of sustainability. The group I joined talked about how Subud, as an organization, can become more environmentally sustainable. We developed a proposal to send to the WSC about investigating what can be done to ensure that all Subud gatherings (at the regional, national and international levels) can at least attempt to minimize environmental impacts. There were six main areas that should be researched and solutions put-forward: 1. water use (does the hotel/conference centre have a strict water conservation ethic? Is there the option to not have linens and towels washed everyday, etc?); 2. energy use (is there unneccesary air conditioning? are the buildings passive in their energy use? does the hotel/conference centre have a strict energy conservation ethic, are venues walkable/bikeable distances, etc?); 3. food sourcing (where does the catered food come from?); 4. waste stream (does the hotel/conference centre recycle, compost, sort waste? Can we work towards a "zero waste" gathering, etc?); 5. pre-gathering awareness (ways Subud members can reduce their environmental impact PRIOR to the gathering so that they can travel guilt-free) and; 6. off-set programs (contribute to or develop programs that help off-set the environmental impacts of a gathering).
With a bit of effort and some dedicated people, I do believe that we can at least make these ideas available and begin to encourage the various organizing committees to use them. It certainly takes an awareness on the part of everyone to make the necessary changes and implement ideas that might not be as favorable as the same-old-same-old.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Subud TV
If you're not in Christchurch, or you haven't had a chance to check out any of Congress TV, go to www.subud.tv
Organization Frustration
On Thursday, my brother told me that he was told at a youth meeting that it is really important for young people to go to the Working Parties (WP) so they have a voice. So I decided that I would attend the Presence and External Relations Working Party. I am one of many who feel that how Subud is seen to the world is important and if we want Subud to survive it must have a presence in the broader community. Unfortunately, my first experience in a WP was quite disappointing...because it was so frustrating.
We started with introductions: name, country and why you're attending this WP...pretty simple, pretty quick...it took over an hour for about 25 people to speak. HALF of the time alotted for the entire session was taken up by introductions. Some people decided to tell their life story, some people had an agenda and for some reason felt the introductions was an appropriate place to talk about it. Some people, after the previous person was asked to stop because of time, rambled on and on, apparently completely unaware of the fact that they were doing exactly what the previous person had done. I wanted to pull my hair out, or at least tell people to keep it short!
After introductions, the faciliators numbered us off and told us the question that we were to discuss...not so simple, some people didn't want to discuss that question. After about 45 minutes of discussion there were four questions that we generally agreed needed discussing. So, that left us with 15 minutes of discussion time! 15 minutes for the meat of the WP! We were supposed to come up with suggestions for the WSA Board to discuss and implement...HA! Oh well, I gave it a try.
What was frustrating for me was that 1. people didn't listen to instructions, instead were only concerned about their own agendas, 2. although the facilitators did cut people off (after about 10 minutes), there wasn't a more strict time and/or sentence limit, 3. nothing got done because everyone has the right to speak. I am coming from a science background, and a school where team work is a major part of the work load. I know it can be hard to work in a group, but when you have a time limit, you get things done...you don't talk about it and talk about it and end up left with no time to act. Discussion is important, but so is completing a task.
I must be fair however, the day I attended was the first of a four-part series. I couldn't go back on the following day because I had a prior commitment, so maybe there was more beneficial talk the next day. I hope so. I've generally avoided getting involved with Subud as an organization; I'm happy to do latihan, socialize and leave. But I also don't want Subud to disappear for lack of the next generation getting involved. To make these discussions more efficient and useful, we should implement a time or sentence limit: tell us why you are here in one minute/sentence. That's it...
We started with introductions: name, country and why you're attending this WP...pretty simple, pretty quick...it took over an hour for about 25 people to speak. HALF of the time alotted for the entire session was taken up by introductions. Some people decided to tell their life story, some people had an agenda and for some reason felt the introductions was an appropriate place to talk about it. Some people, after the previous person was asked to stop because of time, rambled on and on, apparently completely unaware of the fact that they were doing exactly what the previous person had done. I wanted to pull my hair out, or at least tell people to keep it short!
After introductions, the faciliators numbered us off and told us the question that we were to discuss...not so simple, some people didn't want to discuss that question. After about 45 minutes of discussion there were four questions that we generally agreed needed discussing. So, that left us with 15 minutes of discussion time! 15 minutes for the meat of the WP! We were supposed to come up with suggestions for the WSA Board to discuss and implement...HA! Oh well, I gave it a try.
What was frustrating for me was that 1. people didn't listen to instructions, instead were only concerned about their own agendas, 2. although the facilitators did cut people off (after about 10 minutes), there wasn't a more strict time and/or sentence limit, 3. nothing got done because everyone has the right to speak. I am coming from a science background, and a school where team work is a major part of the work load. I know it can be hard to work in a group, but when you have a time limit, you get things done...you don't talk about it and talk about it and end up left with no time to act. Discussion is important, but so is completing a task.
I must be fair however, the day I attended was the first of a four-part series. I couldn't go back on the following day because I had a prior commitment, so maybe there was more beneficial talk the next day. I hope so. I've generally avoided getting involved with Subud as an organization; I'm happy to do latihan, socialize and leave. But I also don't want Subud to disappear for lack of the next generation getting involved. To make these discussions more efficient and useful, we should implement a time or sentence limit: tell us why you are here in one minute/sentence. That's it...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
More latihan, more catching-up...
We had the official Opening Ceremony on the evening of the 5th. Those of us volunteering were able to quit early and find seats in the beautiful Town Hall Auditorium. The Ceremony opened with Maori challenge from their chief to our "chief." A warrior did a traditional haka, one of those very intimidating dances where he stomped his feet and stuck his tongue out and was overall very scary. Luckily, our chief accepted their challenge, so we didn't have to go to war! YAY! Then the traditional Maori group did several different songs/performances. They were fantastic, and I was reminded of how many ceremonies in BC include the First Nations. Besides the Maori presentation, my favorite part of the Opening Ceremony was at the end when a list of all the nations with representatives at Congress was read. WOW! There are people here from ALL over the world. Sometimes just one or two people stood up from a country, and sometimes there were MANY. It made me teary-eyed!
Last night was Ibu Rahayu's first talk. It was quite interesting for me, but I wish I was taking notes. That's the scientist in me! I know people say that you don't have to "think" about those talks, you just need to absorb it and your soul will take care of the rest, but I'm still spiritually "young" so I like thinking about these things. I feel like I learned things that I can incorporate into my latihan.
Otherwise, it's been Congress...testing, latihan, meetings and lots of socializing. I took some pictures of the Opening Ceremony, but I don't think I'll be able to upload them. I'll see what I can do.
Last night was Ibu Rahayu's first talk. It was quite interesting for me, but I wish I was taking notes. That's the scientist in me! I know people say that you don't have to "think" about those talks, you just need to absorb it and your soul will take care of the rest, but I'm still spiritually "young" so I like thinking about these things. I feel like I learned things that I can incorporate into my latihan.
Otherwise, it's been Congress...testing, latihan, meetings and lots of socializing. I took some pictures of the Opening Ceremony, but I don't think I'll be able to upload them. I'll see what I can do.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The First Couple of Days
New Zealand is beautiful and reminds most of the Canadians of Canada. Since it's summer here, we're all basking in the warmth (having left a snowy Whistler just a few days ago!) and enjoying being in the sun.
The first couple of days have mostly been all about re-connecting with friends, most of whom I haven't seen since Innsbruck in '05. I took the door-to-door shuttle from the airport, but didn't have a "door" to go to because I my brother had said he would book me a room for the night of my arrival at the hostel he and my dad were staying at, but I didn't know the name of the hostel. So I asked the driver to drop me at the one Subud venue that was open; I figured that if my family was anywhere, they would be there. There were a few young people hanging out outside, but the building was locked from the front. In the time it took me to introduce myself, a group of Subud Vancouver people came walking down the street...a very nice welcome. My brother and father were inside doing latihan, so we were able to connect within a few minutes of my arrival.
When I walked into the Caledonian (one of the venues, in which Registration is happening) the next morning to register, I was immediately commandeered by Ludmilla, the Volunteer Coordinator, (who says "hello" to everyone!) to sit and help her sign in the multitudes of volunteers. I ended up spending about five hours helping out, so I got to meet lots of new people. It's been so fun to see so many old friends and meet so many new ones. Of course, it's all a little overwhelming, but in a good way that makes me excited for the weeks to come.
Tomorrow, the Congress officially begins with a kejiwaan day and the Opening Ceremony in the evening.
The first couple of days have mostly been all about re-connecting with friends, most of whom I haven't seen since Innsbruck in '05. I took the door-to-door shuttle from the airport, but didn't have a "door" to go to because I my brother had said he would book me a room for the night of my arrival at the hostel he and my dad were staying at, but I didn't know the name of the hostel. So I asked the driver to drop me at the one Subud venue that was open; I figured that if my family was anywhere, they would be there. There were a few young people hanging out outside, but the building was locked from the front. In the time it took me to introduce myself, a group of Subud Vancouver people came walking down the street...a very nice welcome. My brother and father were inside doing latihan, so we were able to connect within a few minutes of my arrival.
When I walked into the Caledonian (one of the venues, in which Registration is happening) the next morning to register, I was immediately commandeered by Ludmilla, the Volunteer Coordinator, (who says "hello" to everyone!) to sit and help her sign in the multitudes of volunteers. I ended up spending about five hours helping out, so I got to meet lots of new people. It's been so fun to see so many old friends and meet so many new ones. Of course, it's all a little overwhelming, but in a good way that makes me excited for the weeks to come.
Tomorrow, the Congress officially begins with a kejiwaan day and the Opening Ceremony in the evening.
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