Awakening the Dreamer

Environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment and social justice: personal change is where it all starts

By SANDY LONG

UPPER DELAWARE REGION — Any one of the three goals framing the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream initiative (ATD) is promising enough, but in combination, the trio holds the potential for a truly transformative future. Environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment and social justice are the issues targeted by the organization Pachamama Alliance to connect people and communities in meeting challenges and opportunities for a better future.

Last November, Barbara Lewis, Michele Sands and Kathy Dodge attended one of the organization’s ATD symposiums near Philadelphia and left the gathering resolved to bring the program to Wayne County. “It made the point that individuals and small group efforts really can make a difference,” said Lewis. “I saw it as heating the fires of activism in our area, empowering people and giving them hope that there are others around them who are looking in the same direction,” added Dodge.

The symposium guides participants in examining current levels of environmental, social and spiritual wellbeing, assessing how we arrived at this place and envisioning what is possible for the future.

“It’s a very effective presentation that gets the participants involved with each other, heartens people to feel that their individual commitments and grassroots group efforts really do make a difference (drawing upon Paul Hawken’s book, “Blessed Unrest”) and helps everyone examine how to live more consciously in the world,” Lewis said.

The program features videos of inspiring philosophers, scientists and community leaders and interactive sessions designed to ignite hopeful perspectives on how to build a different future. Presenters from the San-Francisco-based Pachamama Alliance cultivate understanding, compassion and empowerment in order to help participants discover and implement new solutions to the pressing problems found in today’s societies.

“It’s an idea whose time has come. It’s important to recognize that we do have power to change things and small groups can make a difference in their communities and the world at large,” said Marcia Nehemiah, who is helping to plan the events. “One of the things we talked about is getting people involved who are not already heavily active in their communities. We want to reach out to people who might not necessarily find this something that they would be attracted to.”

The symposiums, which have been held across the world, provide an opportunity to connect with others who care deeply about global and local issues, and challenge participants to work alone and together to bring about meaningful changes in the way they interact with each other and the earth. Over 20,000 people have participated since ATD was created in 2005.

Linda Cobb, who is organizing the first event on March 21, likes the open-ended approach taken by the presenters. “They don’t tell you what to do or how to do it. They challenge you to do something that makes sense in your own life and how you live,” said Cobb. “The emphasis is on personal change, where it all starts. We keep waiting for someone at the top to change things, but it happens from the ground up.”

The Pachamama Alliance ( pachamama.org ) was founded in 1995 in response to a request from the Achuar, an indigenous people from the Amazon region of Ecuador seeking a partnership with people from the modern world to help protect their rainforests and way of life. The organization is committed to helping people awaken from “the seductive trance of unlimited progress, unrestrained private interest and material accumulation.”

Two ATD symposiums, offering the same content, will be offered in Wayne County (see below). Both symposiums are sponsored by Sustainable Energy Education and Development Support (SEEDS), Waynepeace, and the Upper Delaware Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Whether the events spawn new initiatives, unite existing efforts or simply inspire personal change, it’s all seen as part of a global initiative working toward new possibilities.

As for the potential outcomes, co-planner Michele Sands is eager to see “connections made between ideas and people.” Nehemiah is hoping for a large turnout, with “lots of people from all walks of life in our community.” Cobb would like a range of ages involved. “No matter what age you are, there’s something you can do,” she emphasized. “Stop blaming the powers that be and say, ‘What can I do?’” And Lewis wants to see the initiative continue. “We really want to stay involved after the symposium. If there are things people want to do, we want to be very supportive of those efforts,” she said.

Ultimately, the symposiums lay a fertile ground for change, for walking the talk, for sustaining the effort and for relying on one another to accomplish those ends. “We’re crossing bridges and getting rid of the divisiveness that seems to haunt our political and social scene,” said Dodge. “Working together is the only way we’re going to solve these problems.”

Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream symposium

The Damascus Community Center

60 Conklin Hill Road, Damascus PA 18415

A $15 donation includes coffee and a soup and bread lunch. Participants are asked to bring their own mug and bowl, in order to create less waste. To register for the first symposium, visit awakeningthedreamer.org (click on Symposium map/find a symposium). For more information e-mail fallsdalestudios@yahoo.com or call 570/729-7306.

A second symposium, with the same content and hours as the first, will be presented at the Episcopal Parish House in Honesdale on Saturday, May 2. Register online or e-mail pianov8@yahoo.com or call 570/253-8475 after March 20.