Hi All,

Firstly, I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year, and that life is treating you well...

It looks as if I am returning to Schumacher College. I am attending a course from 25th - 29th February called "Roots of Learning: Educating for Community and Sustainability"... I don't suppose by any way it will be as good a cohort as our 'Creative Partnerships" experience, but it will be nice to get back there...

I seem to be becoming the 'de facto' sustainability guy in my Business School these days, but I suppose there is nothing wrong with that. I hope you are all prospering, and Tony - I will be thinking of you when I walk the Schumacher maze...

Look after yourselves - and stay in touch...

Steve

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Tony made a level 5 agreemenbt to meet me and did. He stays in control of his career choices and is challenging his bosses about their definition of partnership.
He is applying behaviors(Cynthian note)Misses his maze and smokes on pavements!We celebrated Mineral Valleys achievments; Craig's contribution;Claire's bravery in face of her health issue; Steven's devolpment and his speed at creating wiki; Kip and Cynthia,s input and the spirit of all of us. Tina, how is sabbatical. I am at Edinburgh Book Festival w/b 12th most days 1-3. Is anyone passing through? I still have this dream of an open door into the light. However I have undertaken a new project for the Diocese. Is this Tony Blair "hubris" I ask myself. Have some summer "me" time everyone.

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Dear all,

How wonderful to meet you again. When I read your texts, I can hear you speak in my head as if you are here, in Amsterdam, with me. I treasure you all.

Tuesday after Schumacher, over 20 collegues had a lovely vegetarian, local dinner in our house. The idea for this was born in the UK thanks to you all.

Steve, you brave man, perfect, this WIKI!
Tina, I thought a lot of you, wandering around the Dartington. Thank you for sharing your experiences! Could you perhaps read the stories aloud, record them and put them online somewhere? If I'll read them by myself, I'll miss your voice and beautiful Scottish accent.
Susi, how deaply committed you are. You gave me so much warmth and wisdom. Thank you for your words for all of us.
Graig, Mairy, how nice it was to start our journey back home together.
Pete, I still feel your good wishes! How do your lungs behave at the moment?
Tony, you are such good company. Do whatever you choose, it will be allright. Although I'd love to hike someday through the Mineral Valleys and I guess they will be nicer and better because of your existence.
Anna, how's life? Keeping the balls in the air (work, travel, finding a house, the wedding to come)? I'd love to see pictures of you in all those different situations.
Claire, Kip, Cynthia, I think you are still traveling. I hope you are allright and yes, I'd love to meet you all again, for now here in this on line space.

Tomorrow I'll meditate again, with three candles. Although meditation with you works better I'll survive with this surrogate..

Sleep well!
Maaike

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No not 42!!! This morning whilst driving to my office in Wales I listened to a radio phone in session on the above topic. It seems that the British Library are collecting emails today on the subject of the meaning of life for storage and future reference.

Well it got me thinking of my time at Schumacher College. Yes I was ill at the time thankfully I am now recovered and firing on both cylinders, but it was a meaningful and valued week for me. I met a group of very honest and spiritual people who I bonded with and shared common interests and goals for that I am eternally grateful. I was concerned that I missed out on many things and you never really saw the true Pete, well I can't turn back the clock but may be one day we can meet again and perhaps I can show you what I am really like when fully fit.

I do have several more photographs of the door opening ceremony and will try to download them ASAP. Unfortunately my IT skills failed me last time and I just couldn't get the small thumbnails to work? Perhaps I can email them to Steve and he can sort it out for me?

Yesterday I received an invite to a meeting with the Minister for the Environment in Westminster in a couple of weeks, its to discuss the lessons learnt from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme which has just finished after 5 years. Perhaps I can influence him to look at things in a more holistic way and engage in creative partnerships with everyone? I'll try not to generate to much conflict in my approach!!!

Please keep the faith my friends and remember: life is a marathon not a sprint.....

Pete (no longer coughing thankfully)

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To Steve for your vitality and your so enjoyable sense of humour despite some political incorrectness!!. You proved that imagination, creativity and bricolage is all we need to start the journey.

To Tony for your wisdom and your thoughtfulness. Your commitment to the maze really inspired me.

To Tina for being such a wonderful connective tissue to the group. Our mindful approach to cooking made all the difference.

To Pete for your sensitiveness and your caring approach to others. Now is your turn to receive. Your body might show you the way forward.

To Craig for your ability to transform meaningful ideas into worthwhile realities and for so passionately taking us with you in such a creative journey. Your gentle support encouraged me to spread my wings at the soirée evening.

To Anne for your openness and commitment to the group. Thanks for showing us the way to the labyrinth in that dark night of spring.

Thanks to Mee for your determination and yet sensitive approach to work. I was very impressed by your wise and resourful ability to navigate in such a hostile work environment.

To Claire for your honesty and courage. Your presence set the dept of the experience.

To Maaikee for your resilience and strength of spirit. Thanks for caring so much for us and for sharing so openly in the night when male and female energies understood each other and found common ground.

To Mairie for your commitment to empower us and your determination to get the fish out of the deep waters of the unconscious.

To Kip for your tenderness and humility. Your presence was truly calming and very inspiring.

To Cyntia for your deep commitment to all of us and for showing us the way to change in such a compassionate and deeply inspiring way.

Lots of love to all of you

Susi

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Who says that the grass is too tiny to contain great love in its heart?

It can reward the sun with a magnificent Spring.

Shi Bo




Dear Shumacher college mates,

I have been thinking of you a lot since I returned from Shumacher College.

I am so glad to hear about your experiences.....Thanks Steve for taking the initiative to create a “container” for our communications. In a way hearing from you reminds me that the experience I lived at Shumacher was real not just my imagination!!!

I spent Friday evening and Saturday at Dartington Hall wandering around its beautiful gardens as if I were walking the labyrinth of my own life. I needed some space to land and process the experience before attempting to articulate what happened at the Old Postern.

It was truly inspiring to meet you all and to realise how much of a source of growth was for me to learn about the diversity within each of you. It was truly empowering to discover that connection with each of you beyond our differences and from where that sacred circle was drawn.

Thanks so much

To Steve for your vitality and your so enjoyable sense of humour despite some political incorrectness!!. You proved that imagination, creativity and bricolage is all we need to start the journey.

Susi

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I was able to stay on for a few extra nights after you'd all left. A little of the illusion went with you all and the college seemed to lose it's "soul" - the door closed, there was no meditation, morning meeting or meals and it even rained! This was probably due to the fact that is was the weekend and few of the staff live on site. Despite this I had a wonderful time being a tourist. I took the river boat from Totnes to Dartmouth on Saturday and it was just the most perfect evening to glide tranquilly up the Dart with the egrets wading and a seal basking on a rock. Arriving back in Totnes I took a walk through town and saw a lot of men in smart jackets entering a church to give an all male voice choir performance so I thought I'd go and listen. There was still half an hour to go before it started so a walked a bit more up the town and on the way back saw a lot of people going into another church for what turned out to be a concert of songs and stories and I decided to go there instead. It was a fantastic performance of professionals - one had worked with Elton John, Bryan Ferry, and others; one was a professor at the Royal college of music; one had done some of the commentary on the Planet Earth programme. At the beginning of the performance, a woman stood up to give some info about the Totnes Early Music Society - and I knew her!! We talked and as I went later to say goodbye to her at the end of the concert, who did I meet but Matt Harvey!!! I told him all about our soiree and all you converts to his poetry! It turns out I'll see them both in a couple of weeks at the Swindon Festival of Literature. Not quite so amazing but still synchronous - the next day I took the steam train to Buckfast Abbey. On the way a family on bicycles passed me and we all looked at each other in recognition in that instant of passing. After a moment I remembered we'd met at the Resurgence summer camp last year! Anyway, great that this site has been created. Love Tina xx (I am over 13!)

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