Please Introduce Yourself and let us know what you seek and what you offer.

[Earon Davis]

We are each complex beings, seeking our own balance with individual and collective focuses. What is it that you are seeking here and what would you like to offer? This could be related to the Chicago area, social or interspiritual gatherings, networking with those holding similar interests here or elsewhere, or whatever fits. Feel free to form your own question or your own discussion :-)

[Earon Davis]

What propelled me to get involved with ANH is an example of how reaching out can yield good results. I was listening to our Chicago Public Radio station and heard an interview with a worldwide environmental expert and former head of the United Nations Environmental Programme, Dr. Ashok Khosla. He talked about sustainability issues in a way that deeply resonated with me, so I emailed him and he responded less than a day later. Dr. Khosla, who is the Harvard professor who created the course that eventually inspired Al Gore's commitment to environmental sustainability, had looked at my website and warmly encouraged me, saying that my project is definitely on the same page as him. He urged me to get involved with ANH, for which he was a board member. Part of my email had mentioned my interspiritual education and my deep respect for the wisdom of Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim and native traditions around the world.

Well, it was a bit cumbersome to get involved with ANH on the older website, but I persisted for several months and finally they launched the current platform for networking with global and local folks also committed to peace, diversity and simpler more sustainable living. And that's how I got here :-) How about you?

What I offer are some online networking skills, organizational/leadership experience and a deep love for the human race and the natural world we live in. I have degrees in law, sociology and public health and am currently a college teacher and bodyworker in a hospital-run Integrative Medicine program. I am the father of three young adults and the partner of a wonderful visionary in the field of media, Martha Foster. We have our projects and inspirations and would love to hear about yours!

[Victoria]

The idea of networking with folks who are focused on the "love for the human race and the natural world" is intriguing to me and I would love to join ANH Chicago. I have a teaching credential for Illinois elementary school, ABCDT dog training, and have taught the children classes in martial arts. For the last 25 years I have helped my husband raise our 2 sons and run the family (3 generations) silversmith business. During that time I have hooked up with many interesting and awake individuals who seek an authentic path.

My current adventure is diving into the world of green technologies and low impact living. I am in the process of building a binary alternative energy system to help run my home here in Batavia. My first solar panel is sprawled out on my dining room table and I have soldered 32 solar-voltaic cells together. Buying cheap on e-bay allows me to build my own panels and truely realize a savings. Next I will build the wind generator which will complete the system. I don't know how it will all work out but that will be discovered as I go along.
If anyone has experience or wants to join the adventure, let me know.

I look forward to getting to know this new group.
Peace,
Victoria Dresch

[Vinay Jain]

Retired as a materials scientist i feel myself a student of science trying to follow interplay of natural science in all aspects of our lives. Enjoy walk/jog, and translating experiences into poems.

In association with the ANH i look forward to studying and understanding Humanities, in particular strengthening of citizenship in democracy, tackling issues like place of nonviolence in Life and tolerance of different views, nuclear disarmament and world peace.

[Emily Salmond]

I'm one of the more recent ('07) college graduates trying to cope with the disillusionment of how to rearrange this jigsaw of a world we've inherited. I believe in the good in people and am at a loss at how to put my own passion for compassion to good use. I am an aspiring novelist currently self-employed in promotions. Maybe I've handed you a sample of some eye-catching shiny thing in the Loop. I stumbled upon this site while facing insomnia from lack of usefulness after a foot injury. Perfect timing as I am currently rethinking what I want to do with my life and hope perhaps some inspiration will come from the people I meet here. I believe in the ohhh-so-old-fashioned-but-never-out-of-style power of love in all things and apply that to my views on religion, politics, the environment, and everyday life.

[Earon Davis]

Hello, Emily! One of the thing we all continue to seek in life is "community." We need community of shared values and shared humanity, although we often end up in communities that are more narrow minded and petty than we expected. The best of communities help us feel supported and valued and encourage us to learn and expand our worlds at the same time that we focus on specific projects and increase our degree of discipline.

To me, one of the most important aspects of education is learning about the world around us. As long as we are separate from other peoples and unfamiliar with their ideas and customs, it is more difficult to visualize our common humanity. We may conceptualize distant cultures, but without sharing their joy, our hearts are not truly opened to them. One of the best books I have ready on the subject of inter-being or interspirituality is "Essential Spirituality" by Roger Walsh, MD, Ph.D.

So, there is a potential community right here and now. Your sharing your thoughts with us is an important event because it calls upon us as people, as humans, to hear what you are saying and to find ways to respond. Emily, I resonate with your feelings of disillusionment with the chaotic world in which we live. Indeed, how can each of us find ways to fit into this strange world when it seems so dysfunctional? How to live within this culture, and not allow it to distort our own thinking into surrendering our values and ethics?

Welcome, Emily. Let me/us know more about you and your interests.

Peace,

Earon

[David Rowell]

I'm a Material Science Engineering student at IIT looking at the structure of our new world, where we have come from, where we are going, what binds people and ideas together. I am exhilarated by the fast paced monumental changes occuring in out global world view. I believe in emergent properties and some of the things emerging from this new global network are beautiful.

I hope to get involved in a project through ANH which uses my education and allows me to find an environmentally friendly and human path for my future.

I live on campus in chicago so contact me if you know of anything,
David Rowell

[Earon Davis]

Hello, David!
Thanks for joining our Chicago network. As you know, a large part of being an agent for positive change involves taking care of ourselves and engaging in community and relationships in which our values are shared. Obviously, some of the major challenges facing humanity involve material science engineering, including construction materials and processes for housing. However, there are so many ways to utilize your skills and training even beyond engineering. So, let's all keep in touch and network for mutual benefit.

I don't know if you are a member of linkedin, but I'd highly suggest joining that professional networking website. You can find my profile there at http://www.linkedin.com/in/earon. I'm also on facebook under "Earon".

Good to "meet" you, David!

Best wishes,

Earon

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