<html><head></head><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>Evan and Anthony </div><div><br></div><div>im looking at you two to collaborajoin</div><div>a complementary ecotopian model</div><div>with help from some of the groundwork laid by these group of people who came together in 2009 abouts to undo the system inside all of us with sone insightful group activities and processes.</div><div><br></div><div>contact</div><div>make friennds</div><div>associate</div><div>creatively influence</div><div>and begin...<br><br>Live<div>Love</div><div>Learn</div><div>Laugh</div><div>Let go</div></div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> Nichola Torbett <<a href="mailto:ntorbett@seminaryofthestreet.org">ntorbett@seminaryofthestreet.org</a>><br><b>Date:</b> June 19, 2012 3:13:58 PM PDT<br><b>To:</b> Troy Massey <<a href="mailto:ecoeconomist11@gmail.com">ecoeconomist11@gmail.com</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>Interdependence Day and Beyond</b><br><br></div></blockquote><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;">
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<div><strong><span style="font-size:18pt;"><a href="http://www.seminaryofthestreet.org/">Seminary of the Street</a><br></span></strong></div>
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<div><strong>Meet Us at the Corner of Love and Justice</strong><strong><br></strong></div>
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<div style="text-align: right;"><strong>June 19, 2012<br></strong></div>
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<div>Dear Troy,</div>
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<div>For many of us, July 4 is a challenging holiday. We recognize that the whole notion of national "independence" is a fiction, that our country, like each of us, is dependent upon a whole interdependent network of people and other living beings who make our lives possible, and that when we blind ourselves to that reality, we enable the exploitation of the people and beings in that network. This blindness brings us, too often, a celebration of the "birth of the United States" that ignores the violence and exploitation in which it was founded.</div>
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<div>And yet, who doesn't love a picnic? And time with friends and family? And the community coming together?</div>
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<div>On this July 4, we at Seminary of the Street invite you to come together with us to acknowledge our need for each other and our mutual interdependence as we struggle to free ourselves from systemic injustice that predates this country's founding and is bound up in it.<span class="text_exposed_show"> Your friends and family are welcome.<br> <br> Come anytime between noon and 4pm or so, and if you can, bring a dish to share or something to grill. Also feel free to bring frisbees, games, etc. <br> <br> We'll do a circle process around 2pm around the question "To what do you pledge allegiance?" and we'll also share what we need and what we can offer as a way of making our interdependence real.<br> <br> We'll meet at the large picnic area toward the south end of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. From West Oakland BART, it is about a 3/4 mile walk or (flat) bike ride out 7th St. toward the port. There is plenty of parking. </span></div>
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<div><span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="text_exposed_show">Dress warmly in layers since the park is on the water and is often breezy.</span></span></div>
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<div>We hope to see you there. Please pass this invitation on to anyone you think might be interested!</div>
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<div>To recap, that's</div>
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<div><span style="color: #000080; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Seminary of the Street Interdependence Day Celebration</strong></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000080;"><strong>Wednesday, July 4</strong></span></div>
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<div>noon-4pm or later, with circle process at 2pm</div>
<div>Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, 2777 Middle Harbor Road</div>
<div>Free! Bring a dish to share and/or something for the grill</div>
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<div><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #000080;"><strong>We're Growing! Recovery from the Dominant Culture</strong></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #000080;"><strong>Every Thursday, 6:30pm</strong></span></div>
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<div>More and more people are discovering this community that comes together weekly to share honestly and openly about the ways in which we need recovery from the socialization and conditioning we have received and the ways in which we are becoming able to resist. We are now doing step work three weeks each month (first, second, and third Thursdays) with an open speaker meeting on fourth Thursdays. Come join us!</div>
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<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">We are all to some degree captive to the institutions and systems upon which we rely for the meeting of our basic needs. For example, we often must sacrifice some piece of our integrity to keep a job, to procure needed goods or services, or to stay out of prison for, say, war tax resistance. The problem is that every time we make one of these sacrifices of integrity without adequately acknowledging and mourning what we are doing, we are further dehumanized. We have all been molded and shaped to some degree by the systems in which we live and by the worldview that underlies them, which includes individualism, white supremacy, the idealization of self-sufficiency, dubious ideas about how to achieve security, status, and esteem, and so on. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">That is not to say that we have succumbed completely. In fact, quite the opposite is true. We have probably all resisted as much as we can. Still, prolonged exposure to this culture has hurt us and diminished our humanity. We want it back. </span></div>
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<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">In this ongoing experimental 12-step program, we will focus on recovery from this process. In our groups so far, we often talk about our addictions to </span></div>
<div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;">* economic, physical, and social security<br>* competition and measuring ourselves against others<br>* praise and approval<br>* smallness or timidity in the face of injustice or entitlement<br></span></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">* self-hatred and self-doubt</span><br><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">* staying busy</span><br><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">* control of people, places, and things</span><br><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">* keeping relationships shallow and safe</span><br><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">* having too much or too little money</span><br><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">* worrying about the future</span><br><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">* assorted substances and material stuff, or the compulsive renunciation thereof</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Members of all other 12-step programs are welcome, as well as those who have never attended a 12-step meeting before. These meetings are an auxilliary to but not a substitute for programs in your primary addiction area. We encourage members to attend other 12-step meetings as appropriate.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Together we will seek the guidance of a Higher Power of our own individual understanding and support each other in trying out new ways of living.</span></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Thursday, 6:30-7:45</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">WORSHP House, 1724 Filbert Street in Oakland (enter through side door on 18th St.)<br></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">No dues or fees, just a freewill donation when we pass the basket</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">No RSVP required<br></span></div>
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<div><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #000080;"><strong>Subsidize Communities of Recovery and Resistance!</strong></span></div>
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<div>Seminary of the Street subsists entirely on individual donations. If you appreciate receiving these emails or having access to this kind of programming, please support our work.</div>
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<div>You can donate with a credit card online at <a href="https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/MakeDonation.aspx?ORGID2=263325297&vlrStratCode=c0P1JRciOC%2f0s5yL8Vu6tUM%2funto7%2bAvE7RjJ1RveJINJj%2bxAWykgJLROVYeNfUp">Network for Good </a>or in the old-fashioned way: by sending a check to Seminary of the Street, 1724 Filbert Street, Oakland, CA 94607.<br> <br>I hope to see you soon!<br> <br>Love and blessings,<br>Nichola</div>
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