Transformative Visions 2009

Sponsored by Onelife Institute, Oakland CA

Held at Studio One, Oakland, CA

As I write, children of Abraham are bombing their brothers and sisters in Gaza; survivors of the slave trade in Congo are slaughtering other survivors; children are sleeping on bare, stained mattresses in crack houses in Oakland; the bones of elders are wearing through their skin in nursing homes across America.

What hope does art have of making any difference?  

There are times when I think there is no point, that the enormity of suffering is beyond any of our capacity. There are times when I hear people say that we are “all” capable of acts of ghastly immorality, and I want to give up.

Yet I know in my heart that cooperation, collaboration and unfettered creativity are our birthright. I know that celebration, music, art, the sharing of food and work, the nurturing of children form the bedrock of every human culture. I know that science is showing us that acts of altruism are hardwired into the pleasure centers of our brains.

There is a worldwide movement to free the earth and our collective and individual selves from the insanity of domination and violence. We who are participating in this program dedicated to Transformative Visions are a part of this movement. No one of us can do it all. But it is necessary is that each of us do our part. This is my part.