On Friendship

Memories - not all sweetness & light

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aQ6N7pc-bQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

With love from
Paul
-Ethical Outings in Hastings:
Auditions on Weds 4th Jan 2012:
http://ethicaloutings.blogspot.com/2011/12/first-three-cast-members-january.html

Preparing a dossier for the MP & Leader of the Council:
http://ethicaloutings.blogspot.com/p/reporting-back-to-amber-rudd-and-jeremy.html

Paul Crosland is currently:
1) Inspired by http://doctorambedkar.blogspot.com
& http://nagaloka-dream-cycle.blogspot.com I have become a playwright & tour guide.
Please also note http://ethicaloutings.blogspot.com/p/sangharakshitas-hand-in-writing-this.html
Find the next performance or tour (Brighton, Hastings, London etc) at: http://ethicaloutings.blogspot.com
2) In the process, co-directing the community interest company that is setting up St Leonards Sharing Timebank: http://stleonardssharing.info
3) Requesting you to please explore timebanking & register your interest in doing more of the things you like to do in your life. (The request is that you do that this week.)

Or tel 0780 70 66 202 for more connection than an e-mail; I'll probably have some minutes (2,000 a month) to call back.

Happy Christmas; a song to all who've braved communication with me (or anyone) and felt hurt

And a link to the above words of the song:
http://revoluutions.blogspot.com/2007/05/words-are-windows-or-theyre-walls.html

I guess when you reject one of my suggestions (which is fine, of course), I guess I'd like to know that you've got in touch with my intention(s) first:



"There is a lot I don’t like about the way Paul goes about things ...."

(A Plug for the "What Kind of Water Are You?" Blog)

"The point is that Paul exists and so do many other people who do things we don’t like. So how do we include them without complaining about what they do or adopting a ‘victim’ position in response to their actions or creating an enemy image or setting a standard for how anyone should be. Paul is representative of those people in society and he’s in your (and mine) life today."


Zelly Restorick meets Paul & discusses Social Marginalisation:

With Prince Charles & the director of Action for Happiness, Mark Williamson - a great outing for him in St Leonards!

Optimism - The Facts

Mark's Review of Amber Rudd's letter to Action for Happiness:


Julie on friendliness & familiarity in St Leonards:


& new blogs this last week:
1) ethicaloutings.blogspot.com

2) Rough and Smooth Paul


With love from
Paul

Exterminate

This precious life

Comments please on Draft one of the "Ethical Outings in Hastings' leaflet written tonight

Is this the year that 'The Truth Will Out?' & what will be your role in that process?

Example 1:
Who knows who burned down the pier?
What are they doing about it?
What power do you have to encourage them to do this?

These are just three of the things addressed on
"Ethical Outings in Hastings"
- a two hour trip around a theme of (social) justice in Hastings & St Leonards.

Your tour guide between 4.30pm & 6.30pm is Paul Crosland, AKA "The Imperfect Idealist", whose (ethically controversial) credentials include being invited by Tony Blair to 10, Downing St to be personally thanked for many years work "on behalf of the victims of crime".

Paul Crosland's 2011 Book "The Imperfect Idealist is dedicated

"To Stefan Gilmore...." (as per the YouTube films on the December 2011 pages of http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com

(Alternatively, searching YouTube for the 'Man of Many T-shirts').

This book is for sale for a price of £minimum wage x 3
Or three hours credit from "St Leonards Sharing" Timebank.
(http://stleonardssharing.info)

The cost of the tour is
£minimum wage x 2
Or two hours credit from "St Leonards Sharing" Timebank.
(http://stleonardssharing.info or call into Southwater Area Community Centre for more info)

You can join the Timebank by providing two referees and agreeing to the conditions and will be allowed to go up to 3 hours in deficit before being expected to give some time back to helping others near you.

All tips given at the end of any tour will go to karuna.org - the charity which your guide left working for in order to move to St Leonards (& more specifically Southwater Road) in order to begin a community-wide process of addressing the causes of fires such as the Hastings Pier Fire, until everyone feels in their heart that justice has been done in St Leonards & Hastings.
*************
[Other side of the leaflet]

Ethical Outings in Hastings

Alternate Thursdays between 5th March and 5th October (the anniversary of the 2010 Pier Fire)

Southwater Area Community Centre

Trains arrive from Brighton/ London Victoria:
Trains arrive from London Charing Cross:
Trains arrive from Ashford/ Hastings:

You are welcome to visit Southwater Area Community Centre from 4pm onwards for drinks etc and more information about St Leonards Sharing Timebank. The Ethical Outing begins itself at 4.30pm and finishes at The Stade, in 'the Old Town' part of Hastings.
(Wheelchair-friendly routes will be taken on days when wheelchair users turn up)

Films about these outings can be found by searching on YouTube for the Toothpaste007 Channel (please subscribe) or just enter the phrase: "Ethical Outings in Hastings" in your search for meaning & a more ethical Hastings & St Leonards.

With love from
Paul
(Ethical Outings in Hastings
- who would you shop? How will you act to get justice in Hastings? What does 'social justice' in relation to the pier look like to you:
http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com)

Also:
The 'Man of Many T-shirts'
(looking out in 2012 for a sponsorship deal from a T-shirt printers)

http://additionalinfo.blogspot.com
& YouTube Channel Toothpaste007

Tel 0780 70 66 202 - please consider calling for more connection than an e-mail; I'll probably have some minutes (2,000 a month) to call back.

Buddhist Tools for Living,p33:
"Most of us talk to ourselves; there is an internal voice providing us with a running commentary on our day. What is the emotional tone of this voice? Are we talking to ourselves in a way in which we wouldn't dare talk to others? Is the voice harsh, moaning, or over-critical? If so, can we soften the voice, and let it be kinder and more forgiving?

Or is it a voice of self-pity, feeling let down by other people and blaming the world for our misery? Such self-pity is corrosive. Even if we HAVE been let down by others, it is no use wallowing in these feelings. Eventually we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down, and start again. In order to be able to do this, we need to acknowledge our pain, admit to ourselves that we were hurt, and bring to this hurt a sense of kindness.

P34 We can remind ourselves of our positive qualities. ...I often work by imagining qualities that I would like to develop. ...I see how I could be different. Then I actually start to FEEL different.

Latest from the (twit)terer: http://twitter.com/paulcrosland: I've woken up and found myself in the #tourist #industry -The BIG idea "Ethical Outings in #Hastings" - a #triratna #buddhist #business #nvc

Latest from the (twit)terer: http://twitter.com/paulcrosland: I've woken up and found myself in the #tourist #industry -The BIG idea "Ethical Outings in #Hastings" - a #triratna #buddhist #business #nvc

With love from
Paul
(Ethical Outings in Hastings
- who would you shop? How will you act to get justice in Hastings? What does 'social justice' in relation to the pier look like to you:
http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com)

Also:
The 'Man of Many T-shirts'
(looking out in 2012 for a sponsorship deal from a T-shirt printers)

http://additionalinfo.blogspot.com
& YouTube Channel Toothpaste007

Tel 0780 70 66 202 - please consider calling for more connection than an e-mail; I'll probably have some minutes (2,000 a month) to call back.

Buddhist Tools for Living,p33:
"Most of us talk to ourselves; there is an internal voice providing us with a running commentary on our day. What is the emotional tone of this voice? Are we talking to ourselves in a way in which we wouldn't dare talk to others? Is the voice harsh, moaning, or over-critical? If so, can we soften the voice, and let it be kinder and more forgiving?

Or is it a voice of self-pity, feeling let down by other people and blaming the world for our misery? Such self-pity is corrosive. Even if we HAVE been let down by others, it is no use wallowing in these feelings. Eventually we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down, and start again. In order to be able to do this, we need to acknowledge our pain, admit to ourselves that we were hurt, and bring to this hurt a sense of kindness.

P34 We can remind ourselves of our positive qualities. ...I often work by imagining qualities that I would like to develop. ...I see how I could be different. Then I actually start to FEEL different.

Director of (inter)national Action for Happiness sends his blessings

Date: 30 November 2011 11:36:21 GMT
To: Paul Crosland 
Subject: Re: CLARITY ABOUT MY MOVING-ON PLANS whilst keeping a strong-link to Hastings -wanting to return when the conditions are right again, & NatWest CommunityForce

Hi Paul - thanks for the update. Sorry to hear the NatWest thing didn't work out - I'm sure there was some very strong competition for the funds. Best of luck with the move to Brighton - really hope that all works out for the best. Love the idea of "lend it all man" and great to hear that you're connecting with the #occupy folks. Thanks for all the positive things you've done in the name of Action for Happiness. Stay in touch! Mark

-- 
Mark Williamson

Director, Action for Happiness

www.actionforhappiness.org

www.facebook.com/actionforhappiness

www.twitter.com/actionhappiness

On 30 November 2011 11:19, Paul Crosland <paul.crosland@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear All (copied to Mark Williamson, Action for Happiness director)

Thank you all for the NATWEST COMMUNITY FORCE VOTES YOU GAVE AND ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO GIVE.

For me this unsuccessful attempt at raising timebank finance was a litmus test of Hastings/St Leonards neither being ready for what I'm offering or the way in which I'm offering it.

The controversy of my bringing the pier into the issue is well highlighted by this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCYpzKyhyP8

I thought that some of you might like to see the results -as offered below. Can I also ask a favour? Has anyone got time to research how many votes it took to win in 'Ashford & hastings' area & how many it will took to win in Brighton?

I ask because I will be moving to Brighton (and commuting back to St Leonards for two nights a week-ideally WEDS & THURS) if:

1) I can set up the better conditions I seek in Brighton (This basically consists of a supermarket shelf-stacking job through FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY nights & living in a Buddhist household committed to the Bodhisattva Ideal)

2) I get offers of accommodation in Hastings/St Leonards to enable me to visit as planned.

Meanwhile, I've moved into a smaller and much neater office upstairs at the southwater centre that has all the vibe of the healings that were done there during "AGoodWeek".

Sue Coates is a keyholder and I would like Graham to accept back a set of keys so that he can use the office (when Sue and I aren't) in order to do the work of The Hastings Happy Crew.

I imagine that others of you can create some value by using the resources of the Mediation Support office, with its computer (just sign in as 'guest'), printer, comfy (orange) chair, display on the board and door of some achievements over 6 months, and streetbank library.

I'm in negotiation with the co-director of Freeelending CIC, Edmund Johnson, about the changed name and direction of the Community Interest Company; perhaps shortly to be called:

Timebanking & Freelending CIC.

Cheers

it's been a pleasure to have your company on this leg of a journey that reaches another crescendo this afternoon by the pier, where a poignant gravestone is being laid by a group of us.

(Don't worry, you'll be able to catch it all on http://www.youtube.com/user/Toothpaste007)

Paul

P.S. On Tuesday 13th December I'm giving the following talk (6-7pm) at the Occupy Brighton Camp:

Lend-It-All Man on increasing the role of the sharing & gift economy

-it would be great to see you there!

More on 'Lend It All Man' is here:

http://imperfectidealist.blogspot.com/p/paul-aka-lend-it-all-man.html

and my latest facebook update:

Excited by the prospect of the BBC Interview I did yesterday at the Occupy Brighton Camp leading to the recruitment of a team to knock on doors in Brighton and offer to do an hour's work for everyone we meet. (It's a bit like 'bob-a-job' from my youth). http://brightontimebank.info/

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CommunityForce
Date: Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 10:40 AM
Subject: NatWest CommunityForce - The results are in
To: 

If you are having trouble viewing this email, click here   |  Your partial post code: 6LA
Click here to add this email to your safe list.

Dear Paul, As you will know, in July this year we launched CommunityForce and asked local charities and projects to take part and apply. In September, we invited members of the public to get involved and vote for the projects and charities they felt were making a big difference in their communities. In total more than 360,000 votes were cast for over 5,000 projects across England and Wales. We are delighted to tell you that the winners have now been announced. Visit natwest.com/communityforce to find out if the projects you voted for have won a £6,000 CommunityForce award. What will happen next? You can continue to support CommunityForce by volunteering for many of the charities and projects that applied this year. If you would like to volunteer it's easy to get involved. Explore the full range of projects and see who is looking for help near you here. We're also delighted to announce that CommunityForce is working with Localgiving.com to help provide a sustainable future for local charities and community groups, by making it possible for you to find and give to these projects. To find out more about Localgiving.com click here. Thank you for continuing to support CommunityForce. Yours sincerely, Fraser Kennedy Senior Manager, Community       This email is a service message designed to keep you informed about CommunityForce. If you do not want to receive this type of message by email in the future please click here or contact the CommunityForce Helpdesk on 0800 2100 246 or minicom - 0800 0155 545. About this email Please do not reply to this email, the address this email was sent from is not monitored. If you need to speak to us about this email, please refer to the Contact Us section of the CommunityForce website. Please note that this will not opt you out of any digital or mobile banking services you have subscribed to. If you wish to unsubscribe from any specific services such as online statements or mobile banking you will need to log on at NatWest to unsubscribe. Security Why we use the second half of your postcode in this email - We take your security seriously and this easily recognisable piece of information is an additional way to help you identify that this email is likely to be from us. However, you should still treat all emails that appear to be from us with caution and continue to follow the advice given in this section below and at natwest.com/security If you have recently changed address, you may still recognise it as your previous postcode. If so, please contact your branch to update your address. If you suspect it is a phishing email please forward it to phishing@natwest.com Should I ignore emails that do not contain the partial postcode? No, but do treat them with your usual caution. This new security feature is being phased into our emails over time so you should continue to follow the existing email security advice below and at natwest.com/security Many internet users have been targeted through bogus emails by fraudsters claiming to be from the Bank. These emails ask customers to provide personal details or Banking Security Information in order to gain access to your account or verify an email address. Please be on your guard against emails that request any of your security details. If you receive an email like this you should not respond. Please remember that, for security reasons, apart from when you create them at registration or when you change your Internet PIN or Password we will only ever ask you to enter random characters from your Internet PIN and Password when you log on to this service. We would never ask you by email to enter (or record) these details and we would therefore request that you do not respond to emails asking for this information. If you think any NatWest email is a phishing email please forward it to phishing@natwest.com. For further information about this and Internet Security in general, please refer to natwest.com/security Legal This email message is confidential and for use by the addressee only. If the message is received by anyone other than the addressee, please delete it from your computer. National Westminster Bank Plc does not accept responsibility for changes made to thismessage after it was sent. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken to avoid the transmission of viruses, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that onward transmission, opening or use of this message and any attachments will not adversely affect its systems or data. No responsibility is accepted by National Westminster Bank Plc in this regard, and the recipient should carry out such virus and other checks as it considers appropriate. National Westminster Bank Plc. Registered in England and Wales (Registered Number 929027), Registered Office: 135 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3UR. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. If you do not want to receive further communications about CommunityForce by email in the future please send us a message.

--
Dear friend,
How are you? Is there anything that I can do to make things (even) better for you?

Kind regards
Paul
0780 70 66 202 - if a call will work better for you than an email?

Asking you about your interest in happiness & sharing:
http://stleonardssharing.info

"St Leonards Sharing" Timebank videos & press release at:
http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/ideas-bubbling-out-of-happiness.html

Thank you for your time reading the whole email and following up what you were moved to do.

A Happier Economic Way of living and a Happier Economy for alll

> Now that the consensus has almost been reached to rename the community interest company - Timebanking & Freelending CIC
> I've planned a related book.
>
> Modelled on the modern classic book: "The Moneyless Man; a year of freeconomic living"; I'm planning "Lend-It-All Man - a year of timebanking, freelending & greater happiness". The year begins with the move to Hastings & continues as things fruit in Brighton in 2012.
>
> Kind regards
> Paul
> Thank you to so many people in Hastings & St Leonards;
> http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/those-who-have-made-good-week-happen.html

Fwd: Things

Dear Paul

Thank you very much for suggesting lunch with Sue & Barnaby - not forgetting Theo! 

I had a most enjoyable time with you & the others on Thursday. Lovely food & fun too.

And naturally we got to know each other a lot better.

Incidentally, I'm very impressed with your Chairing of the Hastings Action for Happiness Meeting with Mark Williamson in September (which I watched yesterday on You Tube).  Everyone there got time to say what they wanted to & it seemed a most productive Meeting; indeed, I think it's a model of its kind.

Well done!

I hope things are going well for you.

Best wishes

Patrick

What kind of water are you now in Hastings

http://whatkindofwater.blogspot.com

- not just whirling Dervishes getting wet feet!


Happy?

Thank you (from Paul) to so many people in Hastings & St Leonards; most recently Patrick Glass, for his searing critique of the 6 months work I did here in setting up this 1st Happiness Group in Hastings;
> http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/those-who-have-made-good-week-happen.html

Monthly updates on Paul's juggling of so much (seriously playful) stuff at: http://additionalinfo.blogspot.com

Brighton (Triratna) Timebank - your feedback please on this synthesis of ideas please

This email is sent to fellow friendly (& challenging :-) members of the Triratna Buddhist Community & copied to others whose opinion matters most and whose support sustains.
*************************

Brighton (Triratna) Timebank
- sparking new ways to help each other in the new economy

(underneath a logo of a Catherine wheel comprised of 3 Jewels, an arrow to the nail that holds the Catherine Wheel.)

What most firmly keeps the Catherine Wheel safely sparking into the world is a firm shared valuing of the values of the Timebank; the word 'Triratna' meaning 'three jewels'.

These values transcend many philiosophies and religions & are expressed in this Brighton (& South Coast) based Timebank as:

('Triangle Illustration' here)
Apex -Compassion
Left base - Learning
Right base - Team-building

1) Compassion (led by the example of the Buddha, who his closest friend described on his passing as "he who is so kind")

2) Learning (informed by the Buddha's teaching, which included a team-based generosity economics)

3) Team-Building (With our development of wisdom and compassion through working together and mutual generosity we become a stronger "Sangha"; setting a collective lead in troubled times, where ego-leading & greed have led to the un-economy.)

The un-economy was described on Radio 4's Sunday programme (27th November 2011) in the following terms:
Unfair
Unstable
Unsustainable
(& making lots of people) Unhappy.

Have you considered shifting your economic activity so that:
1) No more than one third of your economic activity is in the monetary economy?
2) As much as one third of your economic activity is traded through Timebank credits (free from money & yet able to pay for food, rent etc)? With creativity and good connections Timebank credits are even more potent and flexible than monetary credit in obtaining a wide range of the the things that matter.
3) All the rest of your economic activity becomes generosity- the "sharing and gift economy", whereby things flow freely without expectation of reciprocation.

People have the capacity to support each other meet not just their basic needs. A guy called Maslow wrote of our highest needs as our need for 'self-actualisation'. The more we go beyond 'self and other' & see "your needs (as) equal to mine", the healthier our communities become.

For all the benefits granted by late-modern society and competitive, debt-based economics, we can do better still.

If you want something better than what we've had to date, spend time finding out how the creative and socially-just application of timebanking (founded by Edgar Cahn) transcends the limits of money, the limits of barter & the limits of those local exchange schemes that have no brokerage-team to make wonderful things happen with no money.

The Moneyless Man, Mark Boyle, in his book of the same name celebrated with us at Buddhafield festival 2009 what could be done to lift the human spirit and re-connect us outside our monetary relationships.

Now in 2011/2012 the same organisation that founded freelender.org*, is coming of age, renaming itself Freelending & Timebanking CIC and seeking to build a strong team that makes a difference to many. Start by registering your interest via http://brightontimebank.info

(*Celebrated by Forum for the Future -alongside Landshare & Hospitality Club- as ahead of it's time in generating the low carbon economy)

http://additionalinfo.blogspot.com
Thank you for your time reading the whole email and following up what you were moved to do.

Patrick Glass's update to his Happiness Acronym

HAPPINESS-WELLBEING ACRONYM – 'SMALL ROCK MEN FC!'

Adapted from Lord Richard Layard, the economist, William James (Habit), Maslow (Self-Actualisation), Csikszentmihalyi (Flow), and Seligman (PERMA, founder of positive psychology in 1998), and others, there are broadly TWENTY ESSENTIAL ASPECTS to personal wellbeing/happiness (in LARGE CAPITALS)  

SUPPORT: MUSIC, ART, LAUGHTER, LONGEVITY…

R – RELATIONSHIPS – Keep in good repair. Be RESILIENT

O – OTHERS – Think of doing things for others, not yourself

C – COUNT your blessings.  Everyday count three things that

​you've done that are worthwhile (before going to

​sleep)

K – 'KNOW thyself: to find yourself, think for yourself' (Socrates).  Find what your really LOVE doing – don't stop until you have (Steve Jobs) - somethingWORTHWHILE

 

M – MEANING, Values & GOALSMatter.  Most crucially it's yourATTITUDE that matters: nothing more – nothing less.

E – EXERCISE.  Regularly exercise, thirty minutes a day, and you'll feel a lot better for it  

N – NEW.  Do something new everyday –an anti-habit trains the will (James) - something that is RISKY too!

 

F –FLOW.  Be completely committed and focussed on what you're doing – whatever it is, get into the ZONE (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [pronounced 'MEE-hy CHEEK-sent-ma-HY-ee]). And FINISHthings.  There is nothing more satisfying than actually finishing things – preferably before time.

C – CONTROL.  People are more successful, and live longer, when they feel they are in control of their lives (Marmot).

Storming Forming Norming Performing

Drama queen (Paul Crosland) is on the verge of resigning as co-ordinator

> Dear friends,
>
> How are you? I'm planning an exhibition (as ever) about the first 6 months of Action for Happiness, locally. Probably for the Coastal Currents Festival in Autumn 2012 .
>
> And for those who aren't avid Facebook friends of mine, here's the latest status update:
> Processing deeply the feedback the world has given me from the last 5 weeks and the last 5 years; particularly the comment that I appear to be a one-man band rather than inviting people into an orchestra. My answer is now posted on http://additionalinfo.blogspot.com
>
> Kind regards
> Paul
>
> Thank you for your time reading the whole email and following up what you were moved to do.

Sharing a still from the Happy Halloween video

Happy #Halloween from #Sussex again! (a still from Fri's YouTube clip on Channel toothpaste007)#Hastings #StLeonards http://twitter.com/paulcrosland 

http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/ideas-bubbling-out-of-happiness.html

Happy Halloween

To prepare for 28th Nov launch, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Nigel Ogden

Thanks for telling me that my visit to you in Bexhill today lifted tour spirits. And you lifted mine Nigel. We talk on Monday, your 30hours/week work as co-director of Restorative Technology Ltd (£30/wk pay) -assigned mostly under contract with Freelending CIC as "full-time St Leonards Sharing Timebank support worker" starts on Weds. I'm asking you to be in by 9am to lead /record the next interview with Mark on "A Land Fit for Criminals". All you need to know for doing this is on http://reviewsfrommark.blogspot.com in the latest two films we recorded together this week.
You can start earning Timebank credits from Tuesday & give these to Rosa so that she can choose to trade them for lessons from me in how to set up a company. I'd like her to be thinking what she wants her company to do & what name she wants to give it.
Yours sincerely,
Paul
P.S. Please bring your Mac to work.

Happiness Acronym from Richard Glass

HAPPINESS ACRONYM – ROCK MEN FC!

Adapted from Lord Layard, economist. Following on the work of Martin Seligman (founder of positive psychology in 1998), Layard summed up personal wellbeing/happiness into nine areas. These can be closely monitored.

R – Relationships – keep these in good repair

O – Others – think of doing things for others, not yourself

C – Count your blessings. Everyday count three things that you’ve done that are worthwhile (before going to sleep)

K - ‘Know thyself: to find yourself, think for yourself’ (Socrates). Find what your really LOVE doing and don’t stop until you have (Steve Jobs). (see FLOW)

M – Meaning and Values Matter. Most crucially it’s your Attitude that matters: nothing more – nothing less.

E – Exercise. Regularly exercise and you’ll feel a lot better for it.

N – New. Do something new everyday. Preferably something that is Risky too!

F –FLOW. Be completely committed and focussed on what you’re doing – whatever it is, get into the ZONE (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [pronounced ‘MEE-hy CHEEK-sent-ma-HY-ee]). And FINISH things. There is nothing more satisfying than actually finishing things – preferably before time.

C – Control. People are more successful, and live longer, when they feel they are in control of their lives.

A "more caring and sharing" Hastings and St Leonards?

If you'd like a more caring & sharing environment around you, you only need to fill this page in:http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/stleonardssharing.html

St Leonards Sharing -Trying to provide clearer navigation

Dear all,

There have been a number of confusions/ misunderstandings about the way I've presented 'St Leonards Sharing'. I copy this now to the blog -http://agoodweek.info and say clearly now that it was never my intention to divert NatWest money to compensate Hastings Pier Victims; I simply wanted to pay back the community for voting for "St Leonards Sharing" in as rich a way as I could. And if I didn't manage to raise this £6,000 for the "Hastings Truth & Reconciliation Commission (& associated reparation fund), my intention was to hold myself publically accountable for this shortcoming.

Unfortunately, it looks like (9 hours before the vote has closed) that the votes have not come in sufficiently for our £6k seed capital and we work on volunteer time and timebanked credits still.
The press release which was not printed by the Observer in the last two editions (much to our collective loss), I have this morning now published on:
http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/ideas-bubbling-out-of-happiness.html

Kind regards
Paul
0780 70 66 202 - if a call will work better for you than an email?

"St Leonards Sharing" can be explored on the web at these three locations:
1)Our NatWest Community Force page: http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5827
2) Our Wiki Site: http://stleonardssharing.info
3) The Blog about the Timebank etc - this page of which has an intro to Timebanking video by the pier and a link for how you express interest: http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/ideas-bubbling-out-of-happiness.html

Thank you for your time reading this/ actioning it.

St Leonards Warrior Square sunset last night

http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/ideas-bubbling-out-of-happiness.html

The address for info about "St Leonards Sharing" is http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5827

Take one more step now to support the "St Leonards Sharing" Timebank (eg volunteering) and you'll find our that YOU ARE THE TRIM-TAB:
http://additionalinfo.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-are-trim-tab.html

Thank you for your time reading this/ actioning it.

Gensing and Central St Leonards (& some more)

Big Sister & Lesson to a dinosaur

Dear 2 of the main 4 Sue's I'm in at least fortnightly meaningful contact with (not to mention all the meaningless Sues!),

You two both have inadvertently expressed interest in seeing the film Big Sister (about women door-knocking for http://karuna.org) so I want to arrange for the three of us to watch this together at one of your old town addresses. How does that sound?

For those of you reading this message on a blog your chance to watch 'Big Sister' (& then ask the local Action for Happiness group for neighbour-introduction services) begins here:

http://www.appeals.karuna.org/find-out-more/movies.html

For Sue B, if there's no exams in May, can we make a plan that gets you on:

"Six week door-to-door appeals

Women: 14th April - 26th May 2012"?

Also, for info, as I still want someone to know how the blog works if I get run over, you'll see this post is going there (http://agoodweek.info) automatically, thanks to the email address that I have now shared with just you two.

And here's the last post:

http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/2011/10/clowning-about-whilst-natwest-voting.html

Thank you for your time reading this/ actioning it.

Please do NOT reply to all unless you want your reply appearing on the blog!

Clowning about whilst NatWest voting for 'St Leonards Sharing' Timebank ends at noon

Hello to anyone interested in St Leonards developments & beyond,
I'm still wanting to get loads more to St Leonards residents at no cost and Maria Arpa from http://centreforpeacefulsolutions.org has rung this weekend and offered to come down again before Christmas to provide more team-building support.
There are now 7 roles to be filled (a commitment of 6 hours a month) to power the St Leonards Sharing Timebank & you earn credits for those hours too so it's a win-win-win(St Leonards being the last win) if you contact me and offer some volunteer time- or come along to a Timebank monthly meeting to learn more - there's one at 11am today, even!

Clowning workshops I'm trying to get here soon so here's the message just sent to my mentor in clowning:

> "Hello Jayachitta, I hope that you are well? It may seem strange to you that I get up in the middle of the night just to send this message. For me it has become time to carry on our dialogue about what I could do for you that's worth as much as money. I'm confident that you'll be pleasantly surprised to learn how hours put into St Leonards can now be reclaimed in hours delivered by a range of skilled people local to you in London. Today, the St Leonards Sharing Timebank takes it's next major step -in an 11am meeting, and we have someone from East Sussex County Council visiting to see how we are innovating here and support this initiative which is now keeping me up at night & will hopefully lead to a clowning workshop or two from you down here. As I'm very interested in the 'Silver Dreams' lottery project goals too (which will have funding attached), I'm also interested in how you'd tailor clowning for less mobile senior-citizens?
> Kind regards
> Paul (that guy you accompanied around the streets of NW London door-knocking one fruitful night.)"

http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/ideas-bubbling-out-of-happiness.html -web link for an introduction to Timebanking.

Before noon on 24th October -if you haven't yet- please go to the address where you can make the difference to St Leonards Sharing getting another vote of support, even though it's now unlikely that we'll get the £6,000 prize from the NatWest bank.
The address for info about "St Leonards Sharing" is http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5827
You can also gonthere to become a volunteer - which will boost the St Leonards Sharing Timebank.
Thank you for your time reading this/ actioning it.

Rescheduling 29th October until more interest is expressed

Blog posts about door-knocking training; please suggest revised dates for the training:

http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/2011/10/29th-october-training-1st-draft.html
&
http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/2011/10/door-knocking-by-sanghanath-film-3-of-3.html

TIMEBANK PRESS RELEASE IMMANENT FROM Elize from Sussex Police & Paul Crosland (St Leonards Sharing & Hastings 4 Happiness)

Just had a very successful hour and a half with Elize from the police (including photo shoot & being booked to co-facilitate a Restorative conference in the next fortnight) - the Sussex Police & St Leonards Sharing Timebank arrangement is in place and active. Press release follows.

Alsoon Cooper, who as co-ordinator of Soundspositive, has come forward to be the main recipient of the timebanked hours being given to the police to help them with restorative justice says: "I am absolutely thrilled about this because it means the police hours will be put towards more support and police participation in my ground-breaking community project that builds new and improved relationships between groups that do not usually get along- thorugh the medium of music. So I am putting in a funding bid, for a group of police and young people (at risk of offending or who have offended in their past) to put on a music concert, each performing songs or anything else they would like to do. It's not just about the music but having the time and space to build a better understanding of each other, the differences and similarities, and being ok with that. This ultimately would lead to changes of attitude and could have a huge benefit to the town and those choices individuals from either groups make in their future, whether that be more offending or how to approach each other. If anyone is interested in playing in the band please give me a call on 01424 444330. Cheers!".

Help us get those votes in for us to get our £6,000 seed funding

-and produce (or collect) flyers etc for cafes etc to engage others:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWQ7VNrlePs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hastings Pier Fire 1st Anniversary (4 of 4)

Hi Tony

You made the difference, as you always can, to the event a few hours ago. In the words of AA:
Please keep coming back; it WORKS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWQ7VNrlePs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

-& the rest of what I captured last night is going on http://restorativetechnology.blogspot.com - a site that will impress the police (our latest recruits to the SLS TIMEBANK) more than http://sussexcommunity.blogspot.com

Today, the plan is to support my friend Saar in Devon & to create a highly credible HASTINGS TRUTH & RECONCILIATION COMMISSION.

Kind regards
Paul
http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/ideas-bubbling-out-of-happiness.html

"Freedom is a scary thing; not many people really want it" Laurie Anderson. Use ur nxt 4 mins fdom 2 vote 4 sharing: http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5827
& http://additionalinfo.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-are-trim-tab.html

Thank you for your time reading this/ actioning it.

Red noses Unlimited invited to town for clowning about

Dear Jayachitta, we have great need of your clowning workshops in St Leonards on Sea; in particular I'm thinking of a women's only event on the afternoon of Sunday 30th October for the "Hastings & St Leonards Action for Happiness" sisterhood. I like to arrange these things through timebanking, so let's talk soon about how that works. I hope Hastings people I know ask to be your friend; that would speed up the mutual learning curve about the deep value of clowning in the transition (part cash, part generosity, part exchange) economy we're building here in the name of Action for Happiness.

Much metta, and thank you for continually knocking on my Facebook door,

Paul
http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/ideas-bubbling-out-of-happiness.html

Action for Happiness Director, Mark Williamson, sends more support

Dear 'Hastings & St Leonards Action for Happiness' group

As director of the Action for Happiness initiative I was delighted to see first hand the great work you're doing to help create happier and more connected local communities in Hastings & St Leonards.

Action for Happiness is a nationwide movement with over 17,000 members but it is local initiatives like yours that make all the difference. It's great that you've decided to reach out to people door-to-door to help create new opportunities for them to connect with their neighbours. I'm sure what you're doing will help Hastings & St. Leonards become a more caring and sharing place.

Please encourage anyone you connect with locally to make use of our wealth of online resources at www.actionforhappiness.org.

Wishing you all the very best with your wonderful endeavour,

Dr Mark Williamson
Director, Action for Happiness

Into the Wild- An empathic review by Paul Crosland.

Into the Wild- An empathic review by Paul Crosland.

Chris is a young man who practices his version of integrity unwaveringly. He has courage, discipline and a love of solo-adventure, occasionally flirting with the possibilities of deeper connection with others; being most drawn to those at the edge. His own edge is his lethal inability to process the pain of his own upbringing. On the verge of phoning his parents, who for months -then years- have no idea where he is, this ' "moneyless man" hands the coin instead to an elderly man in a neighbouring phone booth who is struggling for forgivess & reconciliation himself, but who is promptly 'hung-up on' after putting Chris's money in the slot.
Intimacy is nearly achieved with a young folk singer on a hippy-type trailer park, yet the again lethal choice made is not to make love to the 16year old (Chris is 23) whilst her parents are out. If he had, my view is that he would not have lost his connection with society so much that he left it all once and for good. The film is hard to read as a morality tale, and nature/wildness is both honoured in the film and presented as containing menace. Ultimately, it is hard to say what the existential (rather than the physical) cause of Chris's death is, though, for me, the message is that no matter how much wisdom and determination someone has, the task of life goes way beyond self is to keep expanding the boundaries of compassion. Only by staying connected to your pain, to others pain and processing it all with joy, are we both living wildly and free.

************
You have until the 23rd October, but please save me much stress & give another 2-4minutes now to registering & then voting for:
http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5827

-and how many friends/networks have you nudged/encouraged/ set-alight?

Supplementary question if you are willing & able to go deeper:

Supplementary question if you are willing & able to go deeper:

Does your answer to the question -"tell us about a film that has changed your life?" say more about you or the film?
P.S. Please show your calculations.

P.P.S. I borrowed & watched the "awesome" Into The Wild from Sue. I will now ask her to move from being a techno-dinosaur to a higher state of evolution: www.streetbank.com , so that she meets more strangers and makes more friends with shared experiences & film tastes.

St Leonards Sharing gets £6,000 only with clicks from you and your friends

Voting for "St Leonards Sharing" Consortium to get £6,000 to employ a "Timebank developer/broker" for a year is this easy & Hastings & St Leonards Action for Happiness is supported for the next 12 months too if you click on the right page. Here are the instructions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ2QRoHf7GQ
You have until the 23rd October, but please save me much stress & give another 2-4minutes now to registering & then voting for:
http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5827

-and how many friends/networks have you nudged/encouraged/ set-alight?

Door-Knocking by Sanghanath

29th October training 1st draft programme

Dear all who may be expecting my most esteemed door-knocking friend and colleague Jayaraja to be leading the training on 29th October; I haven't found a budget for this -though I have asked for one:-)

Jayaraja is still welcome to lead this day instead -which will be very different then from the programme below, as Jayaraja would then control it.

I drew up the programme below the other night, and since then I've decided to add in a 9.30am 'open for tea' slot and a 9.45am slideshow of the difference that I managed to make in India (in a town called Amravati) thanks to my door-knocking in London for 6 months of the last year.

More about this in my autobiographical blog: http://imperfectidealist.blogspot.com (or is it http://theimperfectidealist.blogspot.com ?)

NB Request: Please send me addresses of your autobiographical blogs, and if you don't have one, please TIMEBANK contract with me to run a session for an hour with you that will hopefully get you up and running with this. Your lives really matter and not just because you are now my friends!; reflecting on them and laughing at yourselfs -kindly- is highly recommended.)

OFFICIAL 1st Draft Programme:

10am Introductions & a round of what each of us want from the day and what we don't want.

10.15am One of Jayaraja's energiser games from his book.

10.30 Paul's latest grand theory: That one of the biggest problems in society is that people don't ask enough of each other, or to put it another way, they do not know how to make clear, NVC requests. IF people made clear NVC requests much more clarity and 'progress' would happen.

THUS, our task as trainees in non-violence is to help draw out the implicit requests in others actions eg what is the request and the need when someone says 'Fuck Off' to a door-knocker?

10.45am This isn't door-knocking training as much as getting in touch with Courage, Compassion & Connection & handling our own sense of rejection and perfectionism (fear).

11am What do you want more of from your neighbours?

11.15am An hour to make a booklet asking for it -access to internet, printers, laminators, coloured paper and pens etc

12.15am A game to get to know each other better -favourite films, books or peope?

12.30 Where do you stand on a grid with these two axis:

Wanting to be liked-Wanting to be Right;

I don't appreciate negative feedback given face-to-face-I appreciate 'Negative Feedback Face to Face' (& what are the up-sides and down-sides of each position eg mine is I like to be right and I appreciate negative feedback -downsides are loneliness and some of the shit thrown sticks on my self-hating self-image)

12.45 A story of how I built a relationship with a benefactor, who basically funded me and my projects for a year. ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS & what that relationship is like now the money has dried up?

1pm Lunch

2pm Tony Arrives to be himself

2.10pm We draw straws to see who gets to knock on Tony's door first (each bringing our booklet to leave with him to read)

-These attempts at connection with you are interspersed with your having quiet time to read the booklets before the mock-up return visits; we all debrief each other about what we did so terribly Jehovah Witness like in talking to you and how much SHAME we feel

3.30pm Closing round and requests for door-knocking teams (if any), for more joint work on booklets (if wanted) or more training (if wanted) on the applications of nonviolent communication to social change.

 NB This draft programme was first posted to the following people in an email dated 30 September 2011 00:42:08 GMT+01:00 Tony, actionforhappiness[at]mediationsupport.info, Jayaraja, Paul Baker, which began:

Tony, I've been pulled up by the head of my previous Buddhist Community (who is also head door-knocking fundraiser). He's telling me I've made an error in getting into an argument with you over door-knocking as a strategy & that I'd do better to empathise with you first.

No wonder I was having such a hard-time getting you to say yes to coming to the training on the 29th when I phoned you this evening (until my battery gave way).

Hi Paul,

Thanks for copying me in on this, might I suggest that hear Tony's concern first, he wants to protect his and other reputation he also wants to respect people's privacy. Empathy first!

I hope this comment is welcome.

metta

Jayaraja

On 29 Sep 2011, at 16:30, Paul Crosland wrote:

Dear Tony & all prejudiced about the secret (lost) art of meeting our neighbours by ACTUALLY KNOCKING ON THEIR DOORS,

Re your comment below; that door knocking will ruin the reputation of "Hastings 4 Happiness" or whatever we're called, that all depends on how it is done. The Karuna Trust, for whom I worked for 7 months before moving here does not have this REPUTATION, though it does encounter this PREJUDICE.

The door-knocking work, as I see it is about often encountering three things that block our connection: PRIVACY, PREJUDICE & FEAR. These three are  met, at best, with COURAGE, COMPASSION & CONNECTION.

The local Action for Happiness brand will court controversy for door-knocking, controversy fuels publicity. Ultimately, the quality of the team determines the reputation.

I deeply value your cynicism Tony and really want you there for the 29th Oct Training, if you can make it.

No obligation to knock real doors, just a willingness to engage with others who were at Maria Arpa's training & who will stand/sit (as we all do) behind imaginary doors.

If you'll come, please either check your cynicism at the door or bring it in lock, stock & two smoking barrels. Either is fine with me, especially now you've discovered a third gear thanks to Maria's training, as you spoke about in the film clip on this page (you spoke second when Mark was here if you struggle to find it in this much liked 45 minute fly on the wall film of our 16th Sept meeting with Mark Williamson);

http://actionforhastingshappiness.blogspot.com/p/national-importance-of-hastings-and-st.html

Kind regards

Paul 

(Co-ordinator of the "St Leonards Sharing" Consortium : www.stleonardssharing.info)

(Co-ordinator of "Hastings & St Leonards Action for Happiness":

www.agoodweek.info)

0780 70 66 202 -phone calls often preferred to emails -for connection, clarity and making plans cooperatively.

(Does your local wellbeing group support your personal happiness, your inter-personal sharing, and the wellbeing of all? http://local-well-being-group.blogspot.com/)

*************************

Life's short; compose your quarrels. (from The Dhammapada)

********************************************

Maybrick44 has made a comment on Door knocking compare & contrast: Sorry Paul but I really do not think that knocking on people's doors is a good idea at all. At the moment, 'Action For Happiness' does not have a reputation either way, people may not know much about it but they may still be open to it. If you go down the route of knocking on doors (and thus invading peoples space at a time YOU have chosen) 'Action For Happiness' will soon garner a reputation for being a religious movement and bracketed in the same way as 'The Moonies', Jehovah's Witnesses. You can reply to this comment by visiting the comments page.

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