The San Diego Ishmael Discussion Group

The San Diego Ishmael Announcement-Only email list

Contents

• Join the San Diego Ishmael Discussion Group!
• Introduction
• About San Diego Ishmael
• History
• Future
• Meeting Information
• Related Links

Join the San Diego Ishmael Discussion Group!

This is where it all started. Join this group to find out what is going on—the latest information is probably not on this page, although I will try to keep the meeting information current. You can set your subscription to read the email on the web site, which is what I do. I made http://j9k.org/i point there to make that easier.

The San Diego Ishmael Discussion Group

If you don't want to go through the Yahoo! registration process you can subscribe by sending an email to SDIshmael-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

If you don't want all the discussion emails, the following list is for you:

The San Diego Ishmael Announcement-Only email list

You can also subscribe by sending an email to sdia-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Introduction

TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person.

An earnest desire to save the world! Oh, I liked that. That was rich indeed. . . “Nobody's out to save the world, because nobody gives a damn about the world, that was just a bunch of goofy kids talking. Get a job, make some money, work till you're sixty, then move to Florida and die.”

Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind & Spirit. D. Quinn. 1992. pp 4-5.

And so begins the story of a man who sees a three-line ad in the personals section, and in a fit of anger, decides to meet this self-proclaimed guru. What he finds when he enters the empty office changes his life forever. Indeed, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn has changed many persons' lives and their feelings about the natural world.

From WSU's 2001 Ishmael Seminar.

About San Diego Ishmael

San Diego Ishmael is for people with an earnest desire to save the world. Daniel Quinn's Ishmael series is the jumping off point for our development. Bring an idea or a book to share with us, or suggest an activity. All are welcome!

We may use an OpenSpace process to help organize our meetings.

History

The yahoo group for "The San Diego Leavers" has messages from May 2002, and first had a meeting--a picnic by the boat-launch ramp at Lake Murray--on Sunday July 21, 2002 at 4 p.m. that was attended by ten people.

The current group has had between four and six people attending meetings.

• The first meeting was on Wednesday, 12/14, 6-8pm at 5900 El Cajon Blvd (Living Room Cafe). It was attended by eight: Jim, Mike, Caroline, Loxie, Laura, Brad, Colin, and Mindy.
• The second, on Tuesday, Jan 17th at 6pm. at Claire de Lune Coffee shop in North Park, attended by Six: Brad, Colin, Mike, Caroline, Laura, Loxie.
• The third, on Tuesday, February 7th 6-8pm in the lobby of Montezuma Hall at SDSU, attended by four: Brad, Colin, Laura, Mike.
• The fourth, on Sunday, February 26th 3-5pm in front of Montezuma Hall at SDSU, attended by nine: Brad, Colin, Laura, Mike, Oren, Lana, Jim, Mindy (at the end), and Loxie.
• The Fifth, on Sunday, March 19th, 3-5 PM, Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Balboa Park. Here's the Balboa Park web site, attended by four: Brad, Colin, Bill, and Mike (and Brad's dog)
• The Sixth, at SDSU's Montezuma Hall, was attended by Brad, Bill, and Colin. SDSU parking tips for the non-carfree.

Future

We are planning to have a presence of some kind at the San Diego Earth Fair on Sunday, April 23rd.

In my opinion, the current group has the potential to be a networking and motivating force for creating and sharing new cultural practices.

After the last meeting, there is a small consensus (3-4 members) that we will be "starting from nothing" with its infinite creative possibility. . . following, at least in part, ideas of Eckhart Tolle. Speaking for myself, I am excited about the possibility of applying open-space techniques to our meetings (should they ever be attended by larger numbers), because open-space methods are good for organizing groups of people to address what most concerns them.

So . . . it is fairly accurate to say that whatever most concerns and interests you, that is what the meeting will be about. You can write down what your idea is as an agenda item. Everyone will have an opportunity to do this. We can then divide our meeting time and locations to spread out and have different groups discussing different things. If you just want to come to watch, if we have a large number attending, there should be different groups to listen in on in case one group doesn't interest you.

What we have in common--this is my guess--is that we find Ishmael groups draw people like ourselves who are looking for a better way of living.

Please keep in mind that though I write and maintain this page, I'm not the leader of the group. I do try to suggest techniques to make sure our meetings remain valuable to attend. Perhaps we should have an official page, the contents of which will be determined by consensus. . .

Join the discussion group--you can set it so you can read the emails on the web--, and attend a meeting to find out and to affect what actually happens.

Next Meeting:

Please visit the San Diego Ishmael Announcement-Only email list for meeting details.

For more information, check the discussion group.

Related Links:

• Read Ishmael excerpts online at Amazon or at The Ishmael Community
• Read Ishmael
• Additional Examples of Positive Change Inspired by Daniel Quinn's Work from the Ishmael Society's 501(c)(3) application.
• The network (you've got to scroll down) - where you can search for people in your zip code.
• SD Ishmael MySpace Group
• The San Diego Daniel Quinn Meetup Group
• Ishmael Society News
• IshCon.org
• Google on Teacher seeks pupil
• Map yourself