Collective Manifestation: A Heart to Heart with Willi Paul and Melissa Wadsworth from Planetshifter.com Magazine.

Please enjoy this conversation with Seattle-based author and life coach Melissa Wadsworth and community builder and futurist Willi Paul. Melissa's writes:

"I connected with Willi on LinkedIn, as a result of holding the intention to align with other like-minded people who are proponents of vital Earth change and human potential. It was a synchronistic meeting. As soon as I connected, I saw his presence on other blogs where people doing advanced thinking and work. The permaculture world is at the forefront of visionary solutions that address issues of how to co-exist harmoniously with Earth and specific locations in a way that nurtures both the landscape and human endeavors. As someone who sees progress through a person-growth, creative-intuition lens, I find it fascinating to connect with people in all areas from technology to ecology who view progress through their own area of expertise. We have much to learn from one another."

Author Melissa Wadsworth's new book: Collective Manifestation: Heart Centered Blueprints for Creating Intentional Community, is part practical self-help guide, part inspiring social-change manifesto, helping individuals, groups and teams (online and off) to establish cohesiveness, focus and vision, while contributing to evolutionary manifestations of love, peace and plenty around the globe. Author Melissa Wadsworth identifies primary energy shifts in society and progressive thinking that are inspiring people to connect in newly collaborative and creative ways. The book also features 11 keys to collective manifestation – steps that simplify being a unified force for positive and healing change.

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The Conversation

Willi's Questions for Melissa -

Willi: How do traditional prayers (ritual) at meal or bedtime play a role in our society today? As you write: "Rituals are a way to experience more shared daily meaning." Are prayers the "right" ritual to build faith and community?

Melissa: Yes I'm sure that there are segments of society who still find traditional prayer at meals and bedtime a comforting and meaningful ritual. In regards to Collective Manifestation, my experience is that ritual (of any sort) can be used to reinforce intention, to organize co-creative practices and processes, for celebration, and as a way to affirm spirituality. Ritual can be an embodiment of intention (about how to live, how to receive, how to give, and so forth). Ritual can be used as a way to make room for new possibility. For instance, with my New Village 22 group, the ritual of meditative visioning on the new and full moons helps focus us and keeps us progressing with the processes we have decided to use for manifestation.

Willi: My work with SCORE and sound myth building asks the participant to integrate visual, sound and alchemy into a whole experience. What are the key sound symbols or metaphors for your community? How do they work?

Melissa: The importance of sound as a creative force was brought to our attention in many ways - through the dream board collage process, in meditation, and in noticing what in the natural world was getting our attention. We noticed that there seemed to be a connection between sound as an audible element of manifestation and "sound' as a geographical consideration (as in Puget Sound) -- both of which might be used to foster manifestation. We did not have specific sound symbols, although one member of our group intuited that certain musical notes might be helpful.

The key thing for us was to look at different aspects of sound: voice, chanting, musical notes, geographical location, and consider in what ways "sound" might be beneficial to a thriving community context. Symbols, in general, are seen as representations of different energies, and as vehicles for inspirational insights and new thinking, as tools for intuitive problem solving.

Willi: One persistent and mission critical idea from my permaculture education and experience is called "localization." We need to scale-back the huge investment in unsustainable energy and food systems and (to simplify) make neighborhood gardens. Localization is part of the idea of resilience which means we build strength, security and unity to families and their neighborhoods. What inspires resilient communities for you?

Melissa:I like that. Localization and simplifying. I have a feeling that there is a collective longing for those things, and that they are driving thoughts about how can we work together to make life, society and community work better for all its members? For instance, there is this huge portion of the population coming into retirement age. No matter the personal perspective around retirement (whether it's "I'm ready to retire" or "I'm passionate about service and don't envision retiring in the traditional sense"), people are wondering how they can newly create community that makes this a meaningful and engaged time of life.

I'm hearing lots of people asking questions like, "I know that I'm going to be a caretaker for my parents, what would it be like to have family compound that facilitated that?" and "What would it take to buy property and share that with other people who want retirement to be different from the options currently expressed ?" These kinds of questions around communities being more cohesive and purposeful, will drive community creation creativity.

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Melissa's Questions for Willi -

Melissa: You mention on your blog the importance of sharing heart-felt movements and the creation of resilient communities. What are the heart-felt movement that you are seeing? How are these contributing to collective problem-solving and collective progress or human evolution?

Willi: Overall, my heart is incubating and integrating three big movements: new mythology, permaculture and Transition.

My aim is to challenge the classic mythologists to get current and not stop at parroting the old myths. We have so many present day environmental and social issues that do not test the Norse mythologies! We are wasting time. New myths need to be relevant and extend to a global reality. My New Myths are usually Nature-driven.

I have four different community-based methods to write and disseminate New Myths:

1. Building a Mythology Generator for the Sustainability Age

2. SCORE – Two examples of Sound Myths:

a. "DUSK" - Sound – Symbol - SCORE Design for Children's Permaculture Stories. Video. New Myth #61.

b. initiation @ nine finger canyon [ New Myth #60 ] by Willi Paul (SF) & Geoff Maddock (LA)

3. Myth Lab

4. The Mythic Engine – To be published shortly.

In terms of human evolution, permaculture is a new agricultural formula needed to respect and care for Mother Nature. New Mythology re-ignites the power of Joseph Campbell's work for the Post Chaos Era ahead while the Transition movement move us away from the stagnant religious beliefs and rituals that have "putting people to sleep" for centuries.

Mellissa: Symbols are a vital part of both my personal growth and of the intuitive processes I use to consider and to understand what is possible for humanity at this time. The discussion of sound symbols on your website got me to considering the possibility that we intuitively use symbols of all the senses to envision, co-create, and plan. In regards to permaculture, do you see that this community movement inherently incorporates symbols (and physical representations thereof) of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell as aspects of human wholeness and a holistic system?

Willi: First, to say that "we intuitively use symbols of all the senses to envision, co-create, and plan" is a big leap. I would love to see some supportive research to back this up! I would say that the ability to see and use symbols in general is a dying art in today's "10 second tweet reality." Many popular symbols are just brands or logos with little deep power. Is sound an untapped symbol generator? Maybe. But the same "mutant attention span" that I lament in Question #1 persists here!

As to the pure permaculturist, myth making and symbology are not primary interests.

Melissa: You call your Permaculture Grid Town a prototype for the Post-Choas Era, in which well-planned, compact, secure and localized products and services avoid duplication. Why is this more functional than say a community that strives to be holistic and incorporate all the products and services in one location? Also, your Grid Town prototype creates a kind of Diamond Grid, is this intentional?

Willi: I see your point. A well-run sustainable community might get you the same functionality as my Grid Town vision. There are critical elements that need to be incorporated into any Post Chaos Era camp. One folks seem to miss often is the security piece. There will be good people with supportive technologies and agricultural resources and many without.
I want to incorporate the permaculture design process here and suggest that there are fences and population limits to these settlements. Hard questions with hard solutions.

Go with a hybrid model, which is the "low tech-tough love" Grid Town approach. The diamond shape is cool but was not pre-designed.

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Concluding Remarks -

Melissa: This conversation reminds me that no matter the specific focus and expertise of people working toward positive shifts in the world, there are common themes that arise. I truly believe that we are only scratching the surface of what is possible in terms of Earthly issues and in regard to human consciousness. Every skill is needed, and passionate focus makes all the difference in how we contribute and what we manifest as committed communities who care about all beings.

Willi: There is a do or die episode coming for humans on this planet, a Chaos and Post-Chaos Era where resources and friendships will be severely tested. Those among us who can manifest a new community spirit where bankers become teachers, and teachers become farmers, may see the dawn of the Post-Chaos Era.

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Contact Info -

Melissa Wadsworth
Brilliance Unlimited, LLC
http://www.melissawadsworth.com
http://www.collectivemanifestation.com
206-384-1890
wadscomm@msn.com
Seattle WA

Willi Paul
New Mythologist & Transition Entrepreneur
@planetshifter @openmythsource @PermacultureXch

Mr. Paul's Online Community Groups:

Depth Psychology Alliance - New Global Mythology Group Founder -
http://www.depthpsychologyalliance.com/

LinkedIn - New Mythology, Permaculture and Transition Group Founder -
https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=5080106&trk=my_groups-tile-grp

Common Ground Center (Santa Cruz, CA) - The Transition Movement Founder –
http://commonground.ning.com/group/the-transition-movement