SolSeed Goals
From SolSeed
Contents |
Discussion at Sol 2009
Participants
- Brandon CS Sanders
- Shelley Sanders
- Ben Sibelman
- Steve Sibelman
- Judy Sibelman
Origins of the SolSeedMovement
- Brandon was working on his dissertation when he discovered Omidyar.net and met Kim, Ted, and possibly Mark
- He had a "peak experience" related to his parents' Christianity and how to relate to it
- SolSeed was going to be a religion (name chosen partly because Earthseed domain name was taken)
- Religion has a privileged place in people's lives, opens a space for the discussion of meaning
- Goal: create a community with a shared language and practices
What it is now
- Judy: Now, SolSeed may be a spirituality
- Avoids problems with trying to convert people
- No need for claims of exclusivity
- See the circles drawing from Seed 2009 on how the SolSeedMovement relates to the wider world
- Overall, Brandon wants to live a life that is part of an epic story
- SolSeed's story is about seeding the galaxy with life
- Other people who have been involved in SolSeed, such as Bonnie, are in it only for connection to people
- Humanists may object to TheDestiny because "we need to fix our problems on Earth first"
- But maybe life is as good as it's ever going to be
What it wants to become
- An intentional community/society
- Would attract "normals," i.e. people uninterested in space?
- Judy and Steve's example: housing co-op in Davis, CA house bought by Judy's parents
- Created by renting out bedrooms
- 4 or 5 total occupants at a time with pretty high turnover
- They've also been involved in a babysitting co-op in Washington, DC
- SolSeed could start with an association of neighbors
- Specific goal: SolSeed room in new neighborhood community center
How to pursue/support achievement of TheDestiny?
- Steve: TheDestiny, and space travel more generally, requires building real wealth
- Best way for SolSeed to help with these big goals may be by "acting at the headwaters," as per the movie The Upward Spiral, taking focused actions aimed at much larger downstream results
- But how to know if we're doing something that will work?
- Shelley: science itself is young, so there's no shame in not entirely knowing what we're doing
Spiritual development
- Judy's religion is "Allishness," defined as connecting with an inner reservoir of awe at All-That-Is instead of focusing on the buzzing of one's thoughts
- Rainier dying: Shelley had to learn to "let it be what it is"
- Brandon: Being open and connected is powerful
- Back to religion: is community its most important aspect rather than the stories it tells?
- Stories about people are effective
- But do people want to follow along with someone else's existing story?
