~C4Chaos

Red ~C Diary: On Gaia and Zaadz Nostalgia

(Crossposted from ~C4Chaos@Gaia)

It's barely a day since Zaadz transformed into Gaia and I'm already feeling a pinch of nostalgia. Most members have embraced the change. Some members have expressed sadness and protest. We (the team) feel their zaadness. We have our reasons. Zaadz will always be special to us. We've (the team and members) taken a cryptic Dutch word and gave it a new meaning in cyberspace. We've made it hot. We've made it fluffy. We've made it cool. We'd like to thank all 150,000+ members who made Zaadz a sweet success.

Our deepest gratitude to all of you! 

But the time has come to practice what we preach -- to be the change so we could change our world. And there's nothing more fitting than this serendipitous quote from William Butler Yeats.

"Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing." ~William Butler Yeats

Thanks again to all our members. If you've grown to love Zaadz, you'll love what Gaia has in store for you (and that purple color will sink in too :)). We're just getting started. Here's to more adventures that lie ahead.

Keep on growing and flowing...

w00t! Zaadz is now Gaia!

http://www.gaia.com/community

What are you addicted to?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for January 14, 2008)

Eating Doritos Chilli Heatwave and drinking Red Bull while watching cheesy DVDs.

Speaking of Doritos, this site is flamin' hot!

Eat and drink at your own peril.

What are you most looking forward to this year?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for January 01, 2008)

Looking forward to coming home to the Emerald City with ~myDakini.

What gift will you give the world today?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for December 24, 2007)

I offer the world a gift of Trinity -- image, music, and poetry.

Image:

Music: My rendition of the classic tune, Sleepwalk, with a holiday twist.

Poetry:

Kings of Wishful Thinking

we say that God is Omniscient, but this would make Him cruel,
for what’s the point of testing us, when He knows the fate of fools,

we say that God is Omnipotent, but this would make us wonder,
for why does He need His angels, to battle demons from evil yonder,

we say that God is the Creator, but this would contradict our theory,
for if the Kosmos is really infinite, there’s no way to create Infinity,

we say that God has a Plan, but this belittles His intention,
for how can He envision a goal, when He’s basking in pure Perfection,

we say that God is Just, but this would make Him blind,
for Justice favors no one, nature, wild, or humankind,

we say that God is our Salvation, but this would make Him a bully,
for if He is Everything, then He is also our Enemy,

we say that God is Love, but this would limit His company,
for how can He be present, when wars engulf humanity,

we say that God is Omnipresent, but this would make Him Us,
for if He is Everywhere, He’d be also in our Hearts,

we say that God should be a He, we say that God should be a She,
we say that God is Neither, whatever Neither meant to be,

we say that God is this, we say that God is that,
but we actually know nothing,
we keep the paradox behind our heads,
and live as Kings of Wishful Thinking.

Tumbling with Passion and Compassion

My teammate Jake has been reflecting on building expressive community. He said:

"Argue with me if you will, but I tend to think that the sheer customizability of Myspace's profiles and the application-overburdened nature Facebook profiles (a seeming paradise of self-expression) instead creates over-stimulated jumbles of things that are not-quite-me. LinkedIn's profiles have a singularity of purpose that actually expresses the employable-me a lot more effectively, but what about creativity?And even though most of these networks allow members to post a variety of different types of content, their focus is clearly on people and user's creations have to sit a few pages deeper.

"On the other hand, social networks for expression tend to be focused around certain types of creative content (Flickr, photos; Youtube, videos; Twitter, text notes) and make sharing your creations extremely easy. On those sites, your expression, your creativity, - your creations - become the focus, and the connecting power of the network fades into the background. "How, then, would the former kind of network nurture greater levels and depth of expression?"

Jake goes on to say that streamlining content creation, highlighting user content on profiles, and favoring content creation over lots of widgets, are some ways of achieving this "greater levels and depth of expression."

I couldn't agree more.

I agree with Jake that Tumblr does a great job at this. Microblogging services like Tumblr is at the edge of the evolution of personal publishing. I've been aware of Tumblr but I haven't used it until today. And I already love it! In fact, I'll even commit a blasphemy and say that I like it much better than Twitter :) It only took minutes to create my Tumblr site and configure it to feed off from my main personal blog. Check it out.

http://c4chaos.tumblr.com/

If only I have more Tumblr friends...

What I particularly like about Tumblr is the filter feature. With just a click, I can remix my stream of thought with people in my Tumblr network. ReadWriteWeb is right: "...remixing other users' posts and allowing people to subscribe to each other's messages was the stroke of genius that made Twitter a hit. But while Twitter is probably a descendant of a chat and social networking, Tumblr is a direct remix of blogging and social networking."

Here's a question: How can a light microblogging application like Tumblr integrate my personal blog and my main social network? Simple. Via RSS feeds.

For example, in Zaadz, members have an activity stream which is also generated as a RSS feed. Note that members have privacy and granular control of their activity stream. They can make their activity stream private, friends only, or public. They could also select which types of activity to include in the activity stream. But because I have nothing to hide online I've set my activity stream to public :) See the link below.

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/activity

This means that I can easily plug the RSS feed of my activity stream into my Tumblr stream. But the question is, do I like to do it? Alex Iskold took the words right out of my mouth:

"I do not need an aggregator of my online presence because it makes no sense. What I need is an aggregator of my soul that I can’t channel elsewhere. This is what my Tumblr blog wil be."

Exactly!

But once you have your "soul" aggregated, the next logical step is to find a social "place" wherein your "greater level and depth of expression" would be appreciated, compassionately critiqued, respected, and celebrated. And that is the gap that we're trying to fill in at Zaadz.

Who, on the whole, do you find happier: children or adults?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for November 16, 2007)

I think children look happier than adults. But adults are more aware of their happiness, because they were exposed to unhappiness more than most children. So, all things being equal, I'd say adults are happier.

Where's the first place you go online?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for November 03, 2007)

I use Firefox as my main application and the default page is the Firefox Start page which uses Google as a search engine.

But the first place I go online is actually Gmail. Why? Because my Zaadz work email is set up with Gmail. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is check my email to see if I have email from my team members, or if there are some notifications and things I need to get done on Zaadz.

From there I go to my Zaadz page and check my zMail to see if I have some emails from members who need help on the site. Then I check my Zaadz blog to see if anyone commented on my blog posts. And then I check my friends' activity page to see what my friends are up to and join in the conversations that interest me.

After that I check the news: NYTimes (email alert), Google News, and read my RSS feeds (from blogs) using Google Reader.

So that's my start up routine.

As you can see, I'm very dependent on Google and I'm literally logged in to Zaadz the whole day, doing work and having fun at the same time :)

So my ideal home page would be a lot similar to iGoogle and Netvibes wherein I can add widget boxes containing the most frequent data I access (email, news, RSS feeds, etc) and especially data from my preferred social networking service, which is Zaadz. The services are already here. And with the arrival of Google's OpenSocial, things will get more interesting in the social networking arena. I expect the Web to be more social than ever. That's good news for our growing community.

Case in point: Check out these bunch of developers gathered around a campfire talking about geeky stuff.

But speaking of home pages, I'm just too lazy to set it up. But now that I've mentioned it, I better start customizing my iGoogle home page so I can save some time clicking around.

What's the most important thing that happened to you this month?

(This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for October 31, 2007)

Let me see… I met with my folks and relatives in Chicago and we talked about a lot of deep-seated personal stuff. I've learned to extend my patience and understanding to new levels and accept things as they are. I've put the Serenity Prayer to practice.

And what do I hope for this November?

I'm excited with the launch of *GAIA(Beta) and I'm looking forward to another trip to Ireland to be with ~myDakini. If everything goes smoothly, I'll be flying back home with her. Now this calls for another Serenity Prayer. Wish us luck, so that long distance suck no more…

My Zaadz Life is an Open Book

Yes it is.

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/activity

What would you say to the person you were one year ago?

(This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for October 24, 2007)

Buy GOOG, AAPL, and GAIA :)

2,139 posts = Four Years in the Rabbit Hole

This is my 2,139th post. Four years ago I started blogging without any idea where it would lead to. Little did I know that the *consistent* practice of blogging would have a big impact on my life, work, love, friendship, ideas and worldview.

In the past couple of years I've been consistently updating two blogs: this personal blog and my personal blog at Zaadz. I'm fortunate enough to blog at work and not hide it from my employers and team members.

For four years my blog has been an extension of my thoughts and memories. It's been my personal reflective tool for looking into my patterns and biases. For example, I noticed that in the past year my interests revolved around the following controversial and timely topics:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/religion

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/climate+change

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/conscious+capitalism

I watched more online videos than tv shows:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/videos

I read more books:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/books/bookshelf

I bookmarked more websites:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/bookmarks/

I posted more photos:

http://www.kosmicaperture.com

And I even posted some crappy videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/c4chaos

Reading, watching, reflecting and writing converged into blogging. Four years of daily postings forced me to put my thoughts into blog posts and hyperlinks and put it in the context of what's already out there. Thanks to blogging I have developed a more embracing tolerance and critical thinking.

To those of you who have followed this blog, thank you for your time and patience. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and encouragements via comments and personal emails. It's humbling to know that I've touched your lives in small ways the same way you've touched mine.

Four years is just a blink of a pixel in this digitized eternity. Here's to more awareness... in between blinks.

Blog Action Day! Ecology, Politics & Consciousness

Today is Blog Action Day! The theme is to post anything about the environment. Good thing I just finished reading the green issue of What is Enlightenment: Ecology,Politics & Consciousness. Check it out.

This is one of my favorite issues so far. Ross Robertson did an excellent coverage of a new breed of environmentalists called, ”bright greens” and analyzed their world views from an integral perspective. Here's the blurb from the article entitled, A Brighter Shade of Green – Rebooting Environmentalism for the 21st Century.

“Environmentalists have long seen the march of human progress as the source of our planet’s ecological woes. But is Mother Nature really better off without us? Meet the heralds of the next great environmental revolution, who dare to say that the brightest promise for a radically sustainable future lies in harnessing the power of human creativity—and technology—to remake the world.”

Robertson narrated his falling out with his old “illuminated hippie type” environmentalism and how his views had been altered when he read the book, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century. I've been wanting to read this book for a while now. Thanks to Robertson it's now on top of my to-buy list.

Recently, I cited the “green” article on the latest Zaadz Symposium. See Z3: Conscious Capitalism and (Bright) Green Business. It was my attempt to tie in conscious capitalism with a brighter shade of green business. Here's a portion of what I wrote.

---

Bright greens seek to understand technology, ecology, economics, design principles and capitalism, and leverage them for solutions instead of tearing down the systems in which we're embedded. By this definition, my views are very compatible with the bright greens. However, as Robertson pointed out in the WIE magazine, the bright greens are somewhat anti-spiritual:

“According to Sterling at least, the bright green paradigm will be one that is completely free of spiritual or mystical overtones…. 'If it doesn't pass muster over at the Skeptical Inquirer magazine, we don't want to know about it. It's not that we're going to pick big public fights with spiritually motivated Greens and other illuminated hippie types. This is useless and a waste of time. like beating up Quakers and Amish. We're simply going to serenely ignore them, the way everyone else does.'”

I have no problem with this. After all, computers, nanotechnology, nuclear, solar and wind power were created without spiritual or mystical overtones. I'm not saying that we have to deny the spiritual or the mystical impulse, but I think that, at this point in time, the spiritual and mystical language should stay in the background or on a different domain so as not to cause more confusion and stigma in the business world. Similar to a separation of church and state. We can honor the transcendent human values and reconcile them with the task at hand. But I see no need to be too “spiritual” and “religious” about it.

---

Check it out and follow the links to posts by the other participants.

For more of my musings on the environment, see http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/environment

And for more “green” things, explore What's Green on Zaadz :)

That is all for now. Enjoy Blog Action Day! Stay bright, fluffy and green!

Z3: Conscious Capitalism and (Bright) Green Business

(Crossposted from zBlog:~C4Chaos)

This post is the sixth in a series on the topic of Eco Business and Conscious Capitalism. I'd like to thank Julian Walker for putting this Zymposium together and to all those who joined this conversation in the past few days. Before I express my own thoughts on this topic, allow me to recap the different perspectives covered by my fellow participants.

Siona kicked it off with a powerful meditation on first person perspective of Conscious Capitalism: a sense of responsibility, or “taking ownership of my position in the world.” Brian followed up with the two roles we play in the conscious capitalism equation: conscious consumer, and conscious earner. Christiana dug deep and wide by asking a few important questions and differentiating the different aspects of Conscious Capitalism and Green Business. Jeff continued with his personal reflection by sharing an overview of the history of capitalism and then opening the “case” for Conscious Capitalism. And finally, Tommy Rosen (of Eco Gift Shop) shared a dilemma that he faces as an entrepreneur in the field of “green” business–the dilemma of not being “ECO” or “green” enough.

In this post, I'll share my views on Conscious Capitalism and its important role in the proliferation of “green” business.

The Driving Force Behind Conscious Capitalism

The participants touched on different perspectives and definitions of a big umbrella term that is Conscious Capitalism. A common thread I noticed is that Conscious Capitalism boils down to Capitalism infused with right intention. And what is the driving force behind this “right intention”? Patricia Aburdene, author of Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, put it succinctly,

“Welcome to the Dawn of Conscious Capitalism–a popular, decentralized, broad-based crusade to heal the excesses of capitalism with transcendent human values.”

Transcendent human values–such us fairness, love, integrity, caring, humility, and compassion–are the forces that drive this right intention.

To put it another way, whereas the major mode of thinking in Capitalism is “objective” (i.e. profit at all costs, creation of a consumer culture), in Conscious Capitalism, the major mode of thinking is driven by “subjective” (i.e. sense of purpose) and “intersubjective” (i.e. high standard of morals and ethics).

If Capitalism is like an operating software then its long due for an upgrade. In the book, Capitalism 3.0, author Peter Barnes, described the two versions of Capitalism and a proposed solution:

Capitalism 1.0, or shortage capitalism, wherein people want more goods than the economy can provide; Demand exceeded supply.

Capitalism 2.0, or surplus capitalism, wherein there's no limit to what corporations can produce; their problem is finding buyers. This version created the excesses that we see today which result in three tragic flaws: “it devours nature, widens inequality, and fails to make us happier in the end.”

Capitalism 3.0, re-inventing the commons, wherein the essence is to “fix capitalism's operating system by adding a commons sector to balance the corporate sector. The new sector would supply virtuous feedback loops and proxies for unrepresented stakeholders: future generations, pollutees, and nonhuman species.” Note that although it doesn't use the word “conscious” or require changing the profit motive and human nature, Capitalism 3.0 is a manifesto coming from a more embracing world view, sense of purpose, and ethics (i.e. it includes future generations and has compassion for non human species).

Conscious Capitalism and (Bright) Green Business

If Conscious Capitalism is capitalism infused with transcendent human values, then green business (or eco business) is its natural offshoot. Caring and compassion are transcendent human values that are behind the idea of sustainability (caring for the environment and nature, and compassion for culture and future generations, including nonhuman species). Sustainability in turn is the hallmark of a green business.

However, although green businesses are devoted to sustainability and that big corporations are now paying homage to being green, we still often see environmentalism, anti-capitalism, and capitalism clashing with one another. In their loud clashing, although the extremes on all camps raise our collective awareness of the limitations on each of those camps, I think that the more sustainable solution(s) lie somewhere in the middle. When it comes to capitalism and environmental concerns I firmly believe that the solutions lie somewhere in the brighter shade of the “green” spectrum – a shade of green which embraces technology, ecology, economics, politics, consciousness and ethics, and in the process, raises the consciousness of capitalism.

Case in point: In the green issue of What is Enlightenment: Ecology, Politics & Consciousness, Ross Robertson praised the book, Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century. Worldchanging is comprised of ”bright greens“–“those who harness the engines of capitalism, high technology, and human ingenuity to jump-start the manufacture of a dramatically sustainable future”– in contrast to “dark green” (old-school environmentalism which is anti-this, anti-that, while wallowing in their own romanticism).

“…bright green environmentalism is less about the problems and limitations we need to overcome than the “tools, models, and ideas” that already exist for overcoming them. It forgoes the bleakness of protest and dissent for the energizing confidence of constructive solutions.”

As Jeff Klein and Michael Strong would say, “criticize by creating.” Their motto echoes that of the bright greens. And bright greens are as ambitious as they are practical. Here's what Alex Steffen (co-founder of Worldchanging) has to say:

“We don't need more recycling, we need a completely different system of closed-loop manufacturing, and no matter how many cans I crush my personal actions at the consumer level are of very little importance in getting us there. Even millions more eco-consumers will not get us what we need. What we need instead, it seems to me, is a global movement of smart people who understand the systems in which we're embedded, are actively pursuing better models which could replace them, and are clever as heck about communicating visions for doing so to their fellow citizens.”

Bright greens seek to understand technology, ecology, economics, design principles and capitalism, and leverage them for solutions instead of tearing down the systems in which we're embedded. By this definition, my views are very compatible with the bright greens. However, as Robertson pointed out in the WIE magazine, the bright greens are somewhat anti-spiritual:

“According to Sterling at least, the bright green paradigm will be one that is completely free of spiritual or mystical overtones…. 'If it doesn't pass muster over at the Skeptical Inquirer magazine, we don't want to know about it. It's not that we're going to pick big public fights with spiritually motivated Greens and other illuminated hippie types. This is useless and a waste of time. like beating up Quakers and Amish. We're simply going to serenely ignore them, the way everyone else does.'”

I have no problem with this. After all, computers, nanotechnology, nuclear, solar and wind power were created without spiritual or mystical overtones. I'm not saying that we have to deny the spiritual or the mystical impulse, but I think that, at this point in time, the spiritual and mystical language should stay in the background or on a different domain so as not to cause more confusion and stigma in the business world. Similar to a separation of church and state. We can honor the transcendent human values and reconcile them with the task at hand. But I see no need to be too “spiritual” and “religious” about it.

To sum it up, Conscious capitalism is the tree, green businesses are branches and leaves, we (consumers, entrepreneurs) are the agents of  growth and change. Awareness starts with the individual and spreads like wild fire.

Who is your greatest ethical or moral role model?

(This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for October 05, 2007)

I would say that my mother is my role model when it comes to compassion and forgiveness. But as for general ethics and moral when it comes to issues at a societal (and even planetary) level, my role model is a fictionary character. His name is Jean-Luc Picard. Those who know him would know why I admire the guy :)

Case in point: Below is a video from a classic Star Trek TNG episode. The crew are debating about the prime directive. This had a profound influence on my own critical thinking. That's why I enjoyed watching TNG more than going to church. Ideas like these are not typically discussed by priests (at least where I come from). That's why I believe that morality and ethics are inherently human potentials that evolve and develop overtime, with or without religion.

Seattle Zaangha

(via Global Zaangha Day 2007 @ Seattle )

Greetings from Boulder!

(Crossposted from zBlog:~C4Chaos)

Just got back from the Gaiam + Zaadz meeting held at Boulder, Colorado. It was like a family reunion. Thanks to Gaiam, our family just got bigger and better!

Lots of hugs, high emotions and excitement as we talked about growing the community in the coming weeks and months. The seed that we (you, us) planted is growing fast. More sweet details to come. Hint: It has a lot to do with the idea of ”transformation economy.”

“With transformations, the economic offering of a company is the individual person or company changed as the result of what the company does. With transformations, the customer is the product! The individual buyer of the transformation essentially says, 'change me'.”

Here's to transforming our world. Thanks to all of you for joining us in this exciting journey.

P.S. To all my Boulder homeys: Sorry I didn't get the chance to hang out. The schedule was tight. I'll make it up to you next time.

What's the most positive thing that religion offer?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for August 29, 2007)

– ”definition of social groups and regulation of social interactions within and between groups.”

– ”showing the place of the sacred in human life”

– gateway to communion with the Divine.

If you lived a thousand years ago, what job would you have had?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for August 11, 2007)

Hmm. Ok let me stretch my imagination a bit…

I was living in Japan during the later years of the Heian Period – a peaceful era when Buddhism was staring to spread in Japan, just before the reign of the feudal lords. I was one of the apprentice Buddhist monks working as a scribe, copying sutras after sutras, and meditating in between jobs.

When the Samurais rose into power (in 1050 A.D.) I embraced chaos and found a new career: the art of blacksmithing. The discipline and mental clarity I learned from being a Buddhist monk helped me to become the most reknowned blacksmiths during that period. 400 years after my death, the special method I devised in forging swords was instrumental in the development of the Katana -- the ultimate cutting weapon.

Hattori Hanzō was one of my descendants.

This was my symbol:

Whose life would you like to be living?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for August 08, 2007)

I'll answer this question with lyrics from Dave Matthews…

Could I have been
A parking lot attendant
Could I have been
A millionaire in Bel Air
Could I have been Lost somewhere in Paris
Could I have been
Your little brother
Could I have been
Anyone other than me
Could I have been
Anyone other than me
Could I have been
Anyone other than me
Could I have been
Anyone

He stands touch his hair his shoes untied
Tongue gaping stare
Could I have been a magnet for money?
Could I have been anyone other than me?

Twenty three and so tired of life
Such a shame to throw it all away
The images grow darker still
Could I have been anyone other than me? Then I

Look up at the sky
My mouth is open wide, lick and taste
What's the use in worrying, what's the use in hurrying
Turn, turn we almost become dizzy

I am who I am who I am who am I
Requesting some enlightenment
Could I have been anyone other than me?

Sing and dance I'll play for you tonight
And thrill at it all
Dark clouds may hang on me sometimes
But I'll work it out then I

Look up at the sky
My mouth is open wide, lick and taste
What's the use in worrying, what's the use in hurrying
Turn, turn we almost become dizzy

Falling out of a world of lies
Could I have been dancing nancy
Could I have been anyone other than me?

Gaiam(*Zaadz) = Seeds Growing into Flowers

It's official. Gaiam (NasdaqGM: GAIA) is now the parent company of Zaadz. See the announcement on the Zaadz Team's blog.

"It’s been amazing to see this idea come to fruition as over 85,000 of the most passionate and inspiring people in the world have joined our little oasis..... What's even more amazing is that we're not the only ones with this vision—there are many (!) other businesses out there with the same mission and the same drive. And so, in the spirit of cooperation, collaboration, and conscious capitalism, I'm thrilled to announce our merger with a few of these other mission-driven companies."

What does this mean for the Zaadz community? More "greening" and rapid growth! Sweet.

More "greening"  because Gaiam is the company that coined the term LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) and rapid growth because Gaiam is creating a unified LOHAS community by merging Zaadz, Lime and Conscious Enlightenment.

Zaadz is Dutch for "seed." Gaiam's logo is an "ancient symbol of the Flower of Life." The metaphor screams of serendipity. The seeds are now growing into flowers.

P.S. On a personal note, having worked for Zaadz for more than a year now, I understand how challenging it is to build and maintain a social network that is focused on a niche area. Merging with a bigger company brings more stability to our team and our community. There are other companies who could've possibly acquired Zaadz, but I think Gaiam is a perfect fit since our mission and vision are in alignment from the very beginning, not to mention that Gaiam is founded by an uber-entrepreneur I admire: Jirka Rysavy (case in point: see his profile on Inc.com.).

I'm thrilled to be a part of this transition. But I just can't shake the dreamy feeling of why my destiny, so far, has been intertwined with bald guys living in Boulder. We'll see how deep this rabbit hole goes...

Zaadz on an iPhone

Describe your ideal day.

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for July 25, 2007)

Me and ~myDakini near Lake Washington. It's almost sunset. She's eating ice cream while I play acoustic guitar.

What's the greatest compliment someone could give you?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for June 29, 2007)

Ah, Uncle Scott just gave me the sweetest compliments :)

I-I + Zaadz = Free ILP Stuff

For all you integral junkies who are not subscribed to Zaadz: Catalyzing Conscious Capitalism newsletter, here's something that might interest you:

Zaadz, Integral, and something for you.

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"We know. Integral theory has a bit of a reputation for being heady and academic (though I think it's safe to say that we're proof that the concepts and practices don't have to be too intellectual :). Instead of going on about the more theoretical side, though, we have the opportunity to give you a sneak-preview of a forthcoming book from Shambhala Publications that shows how integral thought can help support, in a practical way, all areas of your life."

"If you visit this page, you'll be able to download, for free, the first few chapters of "Integral Life Practice: How to Design Your Own Training Program for Body, Mind, and Spirit." It's a great introduction to setting up an ILP—a practice that includes all components of human development, from the physical to the spiritual and the personal to the collective. It's a neat idea: you get to learn what integral means by living it, not by getting lost in theory. "

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NOTE: You don't have to be a member of Zaadz to subscribe to the newsletter. But you're always welcome to join in. Use this link: http://coolmel.zaadz.com/join_me  :)

If you could stop your aging indefinitely, would you?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for June 06, 2007)

My answer is an emphatic, YES! I would stop my aging at 27 since metabolism slows down when people reach the age of 30. And besides, wisdom comes from experience, not from aging. I've seen a lot of old people who didn't mature past thirty. I've also seen people who are young yet very mature for their age.

In short, I wish Aubrey de Grey all the best on his efforts to make aging optional.

What do you love most about your work?

(This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for June 02, 2007)

Aside from the purpose and meaning, what I love most about working at Zaadz is that I can work from anywhere where there's broadband connection. This is especially useful since I'm in a long distance relationship.

Case in point: I just woke in a small town in Ireland. I'm catching up with all my emails right now. But the best part of waking up is sharing a breakfast with ~myDakini. Long distance is dead, at least for now.

What's your number one goal for today?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for May 28, 2007)

Fortitude, forgiveness, acceptance, peace of mind and right action. They all go together.

Is the Force real?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for May 22, 2007)

I believe that given the right genes, training and circumstances, some people can have a glimpse of a probable future. I believe that some people can peer deep into our collective memory and into our souls. I think I had a serendipitous brush with that kind of person.

Science and philosophy had come a long way, but the Universe (or Multiverse as others might call it) and our existence is still a mystery. I believe that there are more things in heaven and earth that we can dream of in our technology and philosophy. The “Force” (or whatever you may want to call it) is only one of them.

In the meantime, we project our wishful thinking and imagination, and call them fiction.

Seattle to Portland

Tire pressure. Check. Engine oil. Check. Music CDs. Check. Cliff Bars. Check. Red Bull. Check.

There. I'm all set to drive to Portland.

It's a bit surreal. I've been working (and having fun) on Zaadz for more than a year now, but this would be my first time to meet members of the Zaadz Team, in meatspace.

Today I'll be meeting up with the Zaadz Dev Whiz (Jake, Josh, Ryan). They'll be attending RailsConf 2007 to learn more about cool development stuff to make our experience here on Zaadz more rockin'. As for me, I'll stay in their hotel and eat their veggie pizzas.

What do you appreciate most about your mother?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for May 13, 2007)

Her love, patience, dedication, forgiveness, and for putting up with me and my dad.

If you could design a school, what would it be like?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for May 11, 2007)

First, I would adopt the philosophy of my old alma mater:

“… subscribes to the educational philosophy that focuses on the development of the total person: his intellectual growth, his physical well-being, his social consciousness, his moral and spiritual enhancement…”

In the long run, the school would look something like this :)

Seriously, I think I need to read up on the World Development Report: Development and the Next Generation, so I can form a more realistic and practical design for a school.

    

World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation

“The theme of the World Development Report (WDR) 2007 is youth—young people between the ages of 12 to 24. As this population group seeks identity and independence, they make decisions that affect not only their own well-being, but that of others, and they do this in a rapidly changing demographic and socio-economic environment.”

Pause for a moment, and write a haiku about what's around you.

(This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for May 09, 2007)

in a small corner
witnessing the bright lights of
this Zaadz noosphere

What qualities do you look for in a friend?

(This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for May 07, 2007)

1. Sense of humor
2. Immune to greed
3. Optimistic
4. No-bullshit

Here's Tom Peters expounding on no-bullshit:

Maintain one good friend who revels in telling you that you're full of hooey. When you get to the top of the heap, nothing you hear is true (or, at least the whole truth). Keeping things in perspective is very, very difficult. The difficulty is directly proportional to the size of the heap you're sitting atop.

The best defense is one good, no-bullshit buddy. It can be a spouse. It can be a college roommate you talk to three times a year. But somewhere, somehow, you've got to keep in touch with reality. A person who can laugh at you – and making you laugh at yourself. When Roman senators addressed the masses, they'd have an underling stand behind them whose sole job it was to lean over and repeat: “Remember you're mortal.”

Quite simply, no matter how hard you try, no matter how “open” you are, you'll end up surrounded by “yes people.” It's hard not to believe people who are repeating your own ideas. Resist the temptation.

         

Tom Peters

Source: The Pursuit of Wow!, Page: 47                  

When was the last time you got lost? What happened?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for May 05, 2007)

One time I was mountain biking on a trail in one of the biggest forest preserves in the Chicagoland area. My mistake: it was my first time there, I've got no map, and the sun was about to set. I thought that I could backtrack my way. What a stupid assumption.

I got desperate. I looked for other bikers to ask for direction, but no one was there. I saw a couple of teenagers making out.

“Excuse me. Sorry to disturb you, but do you know the fastest trail to get out here?”

The dude looked at me and said, “Um, just take that trail over there.”

His girlfriend agreed, “Yeah, that should lead you out of the forest.”

“Oh, cool. Thanks guys. Really appreciate it.”

So I followed the trail… After fifteen minutes I was still in the forest. It was getting dark. I began to worry.

“Shit, if the sun goes down, I'll be stuck here. Those pesky mosquitoes would feast on me.”

Then I remembered that the forest preserve is near a main road. So what I did was I looked for the nearest clearing. Upon finding a clearing, I closed my eyes and used my ears to listen to the sound of cars passing by. The sound was faint but it gave me a clue to the direction where the main road was. I followed the nearest trail going in that direction. After a few minutes I was out of the forest.

Moral of the story: Don't ever ask for directions from two teenagers making out.

Greening the Shores of this Cosmic Ocean

In conclusion of the Earth Week blogathon, I'd like to share with everyone the following resources and tips on how to go Green.

TreeHugger's How to Go Green Guides

Stuff @ WorldChanging.com

GreenMoney Journal: Green Investing for Today and Tomorrow

Seattle Times Climate Challenge

If change starts from within, then the greening starts from our personal intentions and actions.  As Padmasamhabava had said:

“Though my View is as spacious as the sky,
  My actions and respect for cause and effect are as fine as grains of flour.”

Finally, I kicked off the Earth Week blogathon with a video from the classic COSMOS series hosted by the late Carl Sagan. So allow me to finish it off with another mind-blowing COSMOS video, One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue.

Thanks to everyone who read and participated in this blogathon. For a recap, check out the following links:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/earth+week

http://search.zaadz.com/for/earth+week

Here's to greening the shores of this Cosmic Ocean.

~C (for Climate Changes, let's dealt with it.)

What do you believe about the state of the environment?

(This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for April 26, 2007)

I believe that the state of the environment is not in peril. It's just is.

The Earth had survived countless transitions in its billions of years of evolution. And it will continue to do so long after humanity (as a specie we are today) had perished. So in my view, it is *us* and our state of relation to the environment which could use more improvement if we want humanity to have an extended stay on this planet.

We are an integral part of this planet but it would be arrogant to think that we are saving the planet. A more accurate point of view is that we're saving ourselves. The planet doesn't need saving. It's us who need to save ourselves from ourselves. Yes, our actions impact the killing of other species. But if we zoom out of the long history of our planet countless species have come and gone without human intervention due to natural selection and evolution. Human actions did not render the dinosaurs extinct. So from another point of view, just like cosmic “accidents,” our devastating actions are agents of natural selection, evolution, change, and impermanence.

This doesn't mean that we have to condone and continue with our destructive actions. Since everything is interconnected, we destroy ourselves with our destructive actions. The state of the environment also reflects our collective state. So let's take responsibility, but let's call a spade a spade. We're not saving the planet. We're saving ourselves. Nothing wrong with this admission. It actually has more power. Self-preservation is a very strong and appropriate motivation to take action.

Happy Earth Day to the Shores of the Cosmic Ocean!

Happy Earth Day to everyone!

To celebrate Earth Day I'll be devoting my blogging on topics related to the environment, ecology, climate change and green things, not just for today, but for the entire week! During this time I'll do most of the blogging on my Zaadz blog. Here are the tags to watch out for:

Earth Week @ ~C4Chaos:

http://coolmel.zaadz.com/blog/tags/earth+week

The Zaadz Team and other eco-aware Zaadzsters are going to be blogging about Earth Day too. So keep watching these tags:

http://search.zaadz.com/for/earth+week 
http://search.zaadz.com/for/earth+day

Feel free to also join zPod:Earth Day and share your eco-awareness with other people on Zaadz.

Finally, to kick off Earth Week, I'd like to take everyone on a flashback journey into the cosmos as Carl Sagan had explored it. So sit back, watch, relax, reflect, and enjoy, while we skinny dip along the shores of this Cosmic Ocean.

P.S. Man, even Google is playing the Climate Change dice. Hot! Er, I'm mean, cool!

What's your relationship to the Earth?

(This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for April 22, 2007)

I am the Earth and the Earth is me,
We are the Earth and the Earth is us.

There's no separation,
We're made of the same stuff
along with other planets,
the Sun, the stars, the swirling galaxies,
the Cosmos, and the Kosmos.

Snap!

I am awed, humbled, and grateful
to witness this illusory separation
to admire the beauty of creation
and melt into thee, with reverie…

I am the Earth and the Earth is me,
We are the Earth and the Earth is us,
the Sun, the stars, the swirling galaxies,
the Cosmos, and the Kosmos.

Social Enterprise and Web 2.0

(Crossposted from zBlog: ~C4Chaos)

dotherightthing.com and Zaadz are in the news. Nice.



Responsibility is in their sites
Web entrepreneurs have an eye on social need – not personal greed 

Jessica Guynn, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, April 15, 2007

Ryan Mickle's life was the stuff young bourgeois dreams are made of. He had a lucrative career as a management consultant, drove a flashy car and lived a few blocks from the beach in an exclusive neighborhood on the Newport Beach (Orange County) peninsula.

Then a year ago he bought a lottery ticket. While jotting down all of the things he would do with the winnings, from spending more time with family and friends to making a real difference in the world, Mickle began to take stock of his life. He was earning a lot of money but was giving very little of himself. And he was the one who was poorer for it.

“I won the lottery that day by realizing that I had everything I needed to start living that life, right then and there,” Mickle said.

So Mickle ditched his high-paying job to brainstorm a new venture with friend Rod Ebrahimi. On a napkin they scribbled their goals: Build an online community that changes the world; make a socially responsible business more profitable; and have fun while doing the right thing.

The result was Dotherightthing.com, a San Francisco startup that allows users to rank companies based on their social impact on the world.

Mickle, 26, and Ebrahimi, 25, are among a growing number of entrepreneurs betting they can build ventures that deliver both financial and social returns. Ebrahimi calls it the double bottom line. “We see more and more people and companies focus on doing good socially while still doing well economically,” he said.

…

Brian Johnson, 32, also found his calling in an unusual amalgam of altruism and business. A disciple of Eastern philosophy and spirituality, Johnson said he felt uncomfortable with capitalism until he hit on the concept of “using economics as a force for good.”

“It is what so many people in the world are conflicted on,” he said. “How do we live our spiritual ideals and make money?”

Now Johnson tries to have it both ways with Zaadz.com, which he describes as MySpace for people who want to change the world. Joh