Help
Sign In
big bang
June 2009 
Taking the Leap into Gaia
Posted on Jan 12th, 2008
by 
Sandra
Sandra
For some reason, one of the most 'popular' blogs I ever wrote was last spring, called Paean to Zaadz. I tried to tell everyone about my experience here on Zaadz, how incredibly grateful I was, and to share about all the wonderful things that had occured during my time here. At the end of the blog I wrote:
But something is going on here, perhaps it is part of the omega point, the eschaton; perhaps Zaadz is part of that whole singularity thing, I don't know. But I am truly grateful....
....It's going to get bigger, much bigger. I say yes, bring it on!
At that time there were about 50,000 members and now there are, what, nearly 150,000? That's incredible. And the seed of Zaadz has grown into Gaia. I had no idea about this at the time of writing my Paean to Zaadz blog, and in yet a few days or sooner I believe we will have a new interface that will reflect our shift.
So... how has it been for me since that blog last spring?
Shortly after writing it (about three weeks) I became cultivator of the Diving Deeper writing workshop pod - something I had not planned at all, it seemed to 'just happen' -- I met the wonderful Alex Noble (Happiness), and loved her writings on writing. She started a pod that quickly she suggested I take over and base it on the writing retreats I lead. At the time the pod had about 90 members, now the membership is well over 400.
after a day 'at work' on Diving Deeper
During my on Diving Deeper I have had three short stories published by online Literary magazines - my first publications of fiction. This was a very big and very powerful shift for me personally, and I have been supported and encouraged by the Diving Deeper members. The story I wrote where I felt I truly 'grokked' the short story form, happened on Diving Deeper, and I'd say a few well articulated words from my dear friend Burt were instrumental in this development.
Diving Deeper goes strong, it has it's ups and downs, it's 'hot' moments, and I saw that it was a reflection of Zaadz as a whole - it was a 'village' in the ever growing world of Zaadz.
There has been a lot of controversy and sharing about the Zaadz to Gaia change, (See the ThinkTank threads and the Gaia Community threads, and the Team blogs and elsewhere), and about some of the new 'tools' (e.g. the seed system) that are being implemented to support the growth and expansion here...
Change??? Oh No!!!
The 'town' was now a teeming metropolis. The incredibly quick responses from the team to issues on the ThnkTank and elswhere seemed to have slowed down, for example, and I felt on overwhelm with the numerous pods and discussions, so I tended to stick to the 'safer' environment of Diving Deeper.
Then the Trust System 'happened' ( now called the Seed System). This event and the discourse about it It energized me to step outside of my 'safe' village, mainly because I felt it was going to threaten that village - we are a group of artists, and I have fought ardently to prevent any artist being hindered by thinking their work is 'good' or 'bad' , and I felt the Seed System, at least as it was first described and developed, would support this kind of judgement.
However, as I went along and stepped outside the confines of my village to talk about what was happening and to hear other voices, I realised that this was not some 'evil' imposition upon us from The Powers That Be, but a system to try and make this place work better. (See my own thread Seeds, the Trust System ??? on Diving Deeper); and that it was a work in progress, and that our voices were being heard.
Very shortly before the Seed System was implemented, myself and a group of others spoke against the 'blinking ads', and they were stopped, so I had real experience of change happening according to the needs of the community itself.
Now I actually believe that the seed system has huge potential, and whether or not any of this potential flowers remains to be seen. See, for example, some of the discussion on Zet's thread Seeds and Gardens on the ThinkTank. Seeds could be used, for example, towards manifesting Gaia developed projects in the world that are non-virtual.
Well....my stepping out into the 'larger' world of Zaadz has challenged me to take a look at what and why I am contributing to this community, to open up more, to speak up about other ideas and visions I have, to listen to what people are sharing here, to play a greater part in this community I 'live' in.
The tree of life...
The Leap, the 'it's going to get bigger' is happening right now. It's happening to me - and to all of us.
How I vision myself has, I believe and I experience, a direct effect on how I experience the outside world. The more limitations I place on myself, the smaller my 'world' feels. I apply this to Zaadz and to Gaia - I can see Gaia as being and and becoming as big and as extraordinary as I allow myself to be. If there are areas which need attention, or areas which are 'hidden' in myself, then these will be so in Gaia and in the world. It is up to me to do my own house-cleaning, and to expand this vision of 'house' to more than just myself; to be as open and vulnerable as I can be, to be willing to listen to the concerns of unmet parts of myself and of others in this world of ours.
I recently said on a thread Zet posted called: Damanhur - an example of enlightened action on the Gaia pod:
...we are living together - in fact I see / experience 'us' here in Gaia as living together in a very real way, not only creating real-time connections and closing the physical 'gap' via the internet.
I actually physically experience 'rooms' here on zaadz/gaia - some are noisy, some are quiet, some are exciting, some are inspiring. Although I have met quite a few members in 'real life' – and hope to continue to do so, there are many people here I feel so close to it is as if we have met.
I remember being slightly horrified when I heard about the 3D virtual world, Second Life, but I think there is something very powerful going on there, and in some ways I do experience my 'life' here on the internet and on zaadz/gaia in particular as being as absolutely real and three dimensional and as 'valuable' as my non-virtual life - and, more particularly being very much an integral part of my non-virtual life (just to note that since Gaia has a 'mission', it differs drastically from Second Life, and I'm personally not interested in playing a different 'role' via an avatar, this 'real' life is far too exciting already!).
If I am experiencing people and spaces that are 'virtual' as 'real', then something very interesting is happening, in my opinion.
I do not suggest that I or anyone else 'lives' virtually, but that because of our ability to connect and imagine in this way, the possibilities for change on Earth are huge, unimaginable even.
As Mark recently quoted from Mirra Alfassa ( The Mother ) on his blogs A New World is Born:
"A new world is BORN. It’s not the old world that is being transformed, it is a NEW world that is born. And we are right in the middle of this transitional period when the two are entangled: the old still persists, all-powerful, dominating the ordinary consciousness entirely, but the new is slipping in, still very modestly, unnoticed- so unnoticed that externally it does not disrupt much… for the time being, and that in the consciousness of most people it is even completely imperceptible. And yet it is working and growing."and from Mark's blog New Knowledge Emerges, also a quote from The Mother:
"Every time a new element is introduced into the various possible combinations, what we might call a “tearing of limits” takes place. Modern scientific perception is clearly much closer to something that corresponds to the new reality than, say, the perceptions of the Stone Age were - without a shadow of doubt. But even that is suddenly going to find itself completely exceeded, surpassed, and probably upset by the intrusion of something that did not exist in the universe we have been studying. It is this change, this abrupt transformation of the universal element that will most certainly bring about a kind of chaos in perceptions, from which a new knowledge will suddenly emerge."
~The Mother
I mentioned singularity in my Paean to Zaadz blog. Singularity generally refers to a technological singularity (the futurist Ray Kurzweil being one of the more famous theorists in this field); but there is also something called the "Consciousness Singularity" .
This refers to .."a hypothetical point of time in the future when human consciousness, at both the personal and species level, experiences an abrupt transition, a phase transition of sorts, into a collective state of transcendence that is conceptually impossible for us to imagine "what it's like" with our current limited cognitive abilities."
For me this could be next leap -- perhaps a combination of technological and consciousness singularity. I believe we are in the process of the leap already. I see this 'consciousness singularity' as being something collaborative and deeply community orientated.
Together
Mushin wrote on the fifth of his blogs Integral Community Building & Collaboration Ecology:
"Encouraging, facilitating and fostering pluralistic conversations and action for a flourishing planet and society in an environment of exponentially increasing social diversity and complexity on all scales, this is the larger purpose Community Development Professionals stand for. To fulfill this purpose we focus, beyond the traditional economic capital, on social, cultural and environmental capital and co-creating it in a new abundance become its stewards. Doing this we will surely craft and foster new types of organizations and communities that provide innovative solutions to environmental and societal challenges, organizations that also create large economic profits because the world-market is ready for them."
So. I am riding the wave here at Zaadz to Gaia: I do not know where it goes or what will happen, I can only say 'yes' to it and enjoy myself to the fullest as I ride, and to keep asking myself, how can I spread the wealth, the joy.....
Riding the Wave
Access: Public
Sandra, very timely message, pausing for a while to explore your thoughts and feelings about Zaadz-becoming-Gaia.
Though I don't find the virtual world as the physical world [as I'd suggested in the Damanhur thread] ; I do feel that it is as real, if not sometimes more authentic for sharing some of our deepest thougths. We live in many dimensions, and each is as real as the other.
And it's interesting, as our thoughts are running along parallel tracks: I have been wanting to blog about the universe that is Zaadz; and then thought today of its analogy to a mansion of many rooms and portals…MANY!
Thank you for the thought-provoking blog.
[I had a momentary feeling of attachment to it…wished you had posted it on the Z-network thread of expectations from Gaia; but I think it had to be a blog; not a pod post. Idea! can i refer to this blog there? ]
Thank you for this blog, Sandra. I've been sitting quietly on the whole Gaia situation but feeling uneasy. Transition / change etc. I feel a little better having read your post.
With Love & Admiration, Ayla
Thank you, Sandra, from the bottom of my heart. You always inspire and uplift. I appreciate your seeing this site transition in a MUCH larger context. It is, I am sure, it is.
So glad you DID venture out and become visible. You are one of the treasures in Z-space.
Mother Mirra knew a lot about new worlds, from the cells out/up, and did her best at the impossible job of articulating the subtlety and complexity of the process, which you describe so well as more of a singularity than a traditional transformation. See Mind of the Cells, by Satprem. Subtitle: Willed Mutation of the Species. It is one of my Most Important Books.
This new world will, I think, be birthed in a reasonably short labor, after its long gestation, and with some chaos, but all those to be living in it are ready. I am SOOOOOO ready. It is an absolute co-creation, formulated of millions of co-creations required for a new Every Which Way of Living.
The so-called Virtual connections as on Zaadz will I think be of great support for many, which I see as one of the larger purposes of the site. Besides contributing information and upliftment to one another, I see the cross-connections we make for one another to be crucially valuable, like all the links you provided above. We all do this cross-connecting but I see it upsurging recently.
I believe, when we are in the manifested actuality of the new world, we will be glad glad glad, beyond ability to speak of. And that all the past, and all the turmoil, will be seen to be worthwhile. At least, eventually, the acceptance will occur.
And as part of the new world, we will automatically realize our world is as we are, which you so rightly described above.
So, onward and upward. EVOLUTION HAPPENS.
In addition to appreciating current ones, I look forward to all the comments this blog will generate, and thanks for the illustrations!!!
THIS IS TOO MUCH!!! [Actually, just an ordinary ol' synchronicity!!!] I go from here to explore Mark's New World blog, and there's the reference to Mind of the Cells, which was not explicit in YOUR blog, and yet you have referred to it before. An underground classic!!!! I discovered it years ago and hold it close to my heart.
Blessings, Rev. O.M. Bastet
Dearest Sandra,
In your honor,
Oh Purgatory!
Thou hast tried me to a cinder -
A puff of dust afloat on a freshening wind
Not lost, I wander with this breeze
As it seeks the like of me
To settle where the elder oak
bore its circled children in the wood
I am there now
In the soil
Bare feet on top of me
Called to earth
to witness this birth
This fine day
This new light.
normalizing the miraculous &
loving me loving you,
Michael
Oh my, what a treat to wake up to these voices… I was again thinking ( as I did after writing the Paean to Zaadz blog) about all the things I left out, the amazing people who have entered my life in the past months; the gratitude I have for this space; the vision I see of Gaia as being an integral part of a profound movement of communities gathering, people sharing their skills, their love, their knowledge for the greater good of all, and these communities becoming part of a larger network of communities.
I 'saw' this vision years ago regarding 'real life' communities - I saw several smaller groups of people connecting deeply and living 'together' in intentional communities - villages, really, and these villages being connected to each other even though they were spread all over the world. Some people would form the 'roots' of a community and stay put, building, cohesing ( is that a word?!), others would move from community to community, spreading the 'seeds', the energy. I know there are so many intentional communities in the world, and so many on-line social networks, for me the real shift is towards the cross-connecting, cross-pollinating…:-)
I see that my vision has expanded to include in a very real way the virtual world. As I mentioned in my Paean to Zaadz blog - I don't experience MySpace and other similar social networking groups as being the same as Zaadz/Gaia. Amber, who actually lived on MySpace for a while, wrote so beautifully on the Z-Network pod thread ”What do you expect out of Zaadz-becoming-Gaia?” :
“NOBODY on MySpace would even bother to read what we call a 'thread' and they call a 'bulletin' unless it had something to do with sex, drugs, or “MySpace is shutting down”. That alert happens about every 10 days. Good 'ol spammers.”
I vision and experience kind of 'revolution' of on-line communities – and that we are not only 'being' the change, but seeing what more can we do, as per my quote from Mushin above. See Albert's note on the community Mushin is is engaged, called synchronistically, Gaiaspace, for example. I don't see this 'space' as being in anyway competitive to Gaia, I feel we are 'past' that kind of mentality. We are, rather, connected and serving the world in a variety of extraordinary ways - and more is possible, believe me… :-)
Meenakshi - Yes I can see that all this seems to be perfect for the Z-Network site as a post - I've been percolating this blog for many weeks now, and it decided to come out last night. Please yes, lets cross-post - as O.M. Bastet says, the cross-connections we make for one another [are] crucially valuable. within communities, from pod to pod, from community to community… :-)
O.M. - yes! The Mind of the Cells is one of my Most Important Books too! (I thought I'd posted it on my books here, but I haven't.. time to do so). You might be interested in the blog ”Life Without Death“ I wrote when Satprem died. At the time of first reading The Mind of the Cells, it was fundamental to my revisioning my own personal physical process (long term 'health' issues), but her work has a much much larger import.
Michael, Oh, I am truly honoured that you wrote such a beautiful poem here. Smiling, my heart to yours.
Love and appreciation to everyone,
Sandra
Just wanted to add a bit for Ayla - I'm not sure what's going to happen either, but I do trust the 'larger' picture - that what Zaadz grew - all the connections, the amazing 'work' and flowering in so many arieas – will never be destroyed, no matter what. I feel it can only get better, one way or the other, and yes, I totally understand your uncertainty.
Love,
Sandra
beautiful…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAIA: AN APPRECIATION
To: Sandra Jensen
From: Happiness
Sandra: Thanks so much for your gracious account of our 'beginnings' with the transformation of my original concept for an online writing workshop into DIVING DEEPER, which now has a life and astonishing synergy of its own, under your superb leadership and extraordinary nurturing of all levels of writers. (Run-on sentence there!).
But you have really done something unique and exceptional, that all of us honor and celebrate with you. Your love, caring, professionalism, awareness, and skills as a writer and coach are unique. You are anchoring exactly the kind of online writing community I originally envisioned, and have gone even beyond that.
The quality of writers and thinkers who have gathered in DIVING DEEPER is also unique, and for me, what this group has accomplished is a vibrant and dynamic example of how we can be “real” to each other even in cyberspace.
Without the high level of nurturing, support, encouragement and plain old fashioned LOVE that exists in DIVING DEEPER (thanks to you and everyone who has come to share and play), there would be no community. Period.
No community, no communion, no communication, no commitment to learning, growing, sharing and being the best we can be. It takes more than a village. It takes vision and unrelenting support through the lean times, and the celebrations.
In terms of models (one of my passions - models of love-in-action), you and the DIVING DEEPER tribe have accomplished something of significance here, and your emerging model must be noted by those, at all levels of our new GAIA, as a model that WORKS.
This model suggests that real people can do real work in real community, if there is enough vision, purpose, determination, tenacity, caring and seriousness on the part of those who step forward as leaders, to show the way.
This whole larger issue of “creating virtual community” is of exceptional and growing importance these days, when travel is both expensive and time-consuming (as we run across cold airport floors in our socks, without shampoo or our favorite Swiss Army knives).
As human beings, for millennia we have been community seekers and builders. The urge for community, at the DNA level, is part of who we are.
In the Stone Age, our gatherings were essential to survival.
Today, while Altamira has been replaced by Adobe Photo Shop for many of us (we paint new paintings on the walls of our caves), now, we can reach out through digital media to carve wondrous new art forms in space time, and create ever-unfolding fractal miracles of delight, play, adventure and continue the Grail Quest that drives us all toward greater good and greater meaning and purpose.
We are able, through technology, to make the invisible visible in astonishing new ways.
But regardless of how well Techne (Greek Goddess of weaving and the arts) and Logos (logic and form) get along in the Singularity Cafe, our machines must first and foremost have souls.
No machine will ever come equipped with a soul.
So it is our job to put the Soul Factor into these luminous spaces and places, and we can only do that through skill, craft, high discipline and great love. We can provide heart, courage, delight, beauty, joy, and do digital miracles never before seen or accomplished on this blue earth in all history.
And history is why we are here, is it not?
We want to make some difference, add some value, live lives worth living and make changes worth making.
But to do this, we must create effective communities that extend from our screens and the walls of our individual caves, into the larger universe, and ultimately, as Thornton Wilder so beautifully put it in “Our Town”…the mind of God.
I love what a sculptor once wrote of his work: “My sculpture is the distance between these words and your heart.”
And so it is with wonderful virtual communities such as DIVING DEEPER. In these luminous spaces, we can be real to each other, we can reach out, connect, build bridges of beauty and compassion.
No generation in history has ever had such an opportunity, as we all have, right here, right now, reading this here, in front of you, WOW!
Sandra, I just want to celebrate the amazing soul-work you have done in demonstrating how it can work, how it is built, how it must be tended and nurtured, and how souls can grow, and how our machines can have real magic in them, and become global souls.
Will our new GAIA have a soul?
This is up to us.
We have been given the tools, we have sprouting seeds, and we have examples such as you have created. Again, my warmest gratitude and congratulations to you, Beautiful Spirit. We are all much in your debt.
You are showing the way.
May we all find inspiration in what has been accomplished by so many seekers and souls here on Zaadz, who have created the launch platform for a new generation of cyber-community possibilities.
And may we learn from what is working, from everything here at our new GAIA that provides examples of how to grow a larger community of communities, which, like points of light, will shine out into the darkness, and bring a brave new day to the world.
Blessings,
HAPPINESS/alex noble
Brian :-) lovely that you stopped by.. and wow what a great icon, I had to go to your home page to see it properly. So sweet.
Happiness, I'm truly bowled over by your comment – of course I so appreciate your words about Diving Deeper ( run on sentences? Hey, I say, let em run!!).
And actually I also believe Diving Deeper is certainly one model for 'what works', thank you for how beautifully you have described this.
But you are also speaking out loud and so eloquently something I've been looking at recently - how no matter how beautiful the 'scenery' or the magnificence of the town planning, the community is made up out of its members, and the level of their input and commitment is what 'counts' : No community, no communion, no communication, no commitment to learning, growing, sharing and being the best we can be. It takes more than a village. It takes vision and unrelenting support through the lean times, and the celebrations.
Thank you for all your incredible input, energy, creativity and love you have put into this community.
Sandra
It took me a few days to get to this post, but I have to tell you that as I am typing this I am a bit teary-eyed. There is so much hope, beauty and goodness in the world…and it can be found here - whatever our name is, whatever our 'rules' or guidelines…the Spirit of this community is blossoming beautifully and it is a joy to witness.
Thank you for tying it together so eloquently, Sandra, and for the links to more fantastic friends. (yeesh, I'm blessed!)
:-) Michele… so sweet that you wrote, thank you.
Love,
Sandra
Damanhur - I'm amazed by what has happened there. I am new again - in kindergarten, beginning to learn.
Kurzweil's idea of consciousness singularity is well founded - see Fred Alan Wolf's “The Dreaming Universe.”
Wonderful blog post…..