Report: Movie Night! @ The Center

The showing of The Power of Community Cuba documentary went well. There were thirteen of us at The Center on Sunday afternoon for the viewing and a lively discussion.

The film had its own impact. Some said it was good to see that a whole country of people could make changes necessary after their 'peak oil' situation. We wondered what the follow-up of the story is and if the film accurately represented what happened for most Cubans, not just for those filmed.

The documentary was produced by The Community Solution. They have links to some very good slide shows: "Energy Modeling," "Community -- the Best Solution,"and "Cuba--A Peak Oil Country."

These were our discussion points:

--Are we hooked on oil?
--How does that look here in Kalispell, Montana"?
--What is our own energy footprint?
--What does community mean to you?
--Do you know your neighbors?
--Have you experienced major change before?
--How did you respond?
--Do you know how and what you are supporting when you:
Do your banking
Pay your grocer
Pay your taxes

RESOURCES

-- Emotional Freedom Technique: www.emofree.com ~ Gary Craig's website; downloadable manual and lots of testimonials

-- The Community Solution: http://www.communitysolution.org/index.html ~ The people who put together The Power of Community film. Many PowerPoint slide shows with well-presented information on Peak Oil, Energy Solutions, Community, etc.

-- Food First – Institute for Food & Development Policy: http://www.foodfirst.org/history ~ See “Cuba's New Agricultural Revolution: The Transformation of Food Crop Production in Contemporary Cuba at: http://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/devreps/dr14.html

-- AERO (Alternative Energy Resource Organization): http://www.aeromt.org/ ~ With a 30-year history in Montana, AERO has played a huge part in education and support of alternative energy. They are Regional Coordinators of the international Buy Fresh / Buy Local movement (http://www.aeromt.org/buylocal.php).

-- Solari: www.solari.com ~ Solari means “to relieve anxiety through illumination.” Solari bylines are: Who's your farmer? Who's your banker? Where's your money? Lots of resources – places to start.

Still the question remains: what motivates people to take action? It's different for each individual and for every place. It's a question that really needs to be at the top of the list in talking about any action. What revs my engines and gets me going?

After a swing around the room with introductions and impressions of the film, we did some 'tapping.' The EFT process mentioned topmost of the Resources above. What did we tap on? Our set-up statement was: Even though I don't know how I can do it I......

So we don't know how to do IT -- whatever it is. I submit that a large chunk of the not knowing has to do with our own emotional blocks, fears, apprehensions, doubts, etc., etc. Clear those out and the unknown becomes the known replacing frozen inaction with positive forward movement.

...and move we will. Stay tuned.

anais