What activities can COOL members participate in?

Now this is where things get interesting.


Central to my concept of COOL, is having members engage in community supported activities. The purpose of this is to solidify our group identity and to present the wider community with a variety of services that will benefit the public and illustrate our selfless intentions.

There are two main categories of activities I'm referring to. The first would be religious ceremonies that members can participate in that express their beliefs, their joy, their communion with One Love and each other.

These would include the usual rites-of-passage like reaching adulthood, marriage (if one choses that option), death, devotional/meditation activities - which could conceivably include everything from Sufi Dancing to Shiva worship to pagan fertility rites to rock concerts to Zazen!

The second category would be community outreach activities. The could provide things like counseling, environmental awareness, neighborhood improvement, daycare, recycling and other social projects. We can share our wisdom and skills with the larger community.

If we are to be a real community (which we seem to be already), then COOL would provide its members with social, legal and moral support when needed.

We could also get involved as activists, esp. if there doesn't seem to be any effective organizations seeking the changes we'd like to see in the broader society. But this would have to be an individual's choice regarding participation. Again, I would think it unnecessary to force anyone to do anything.

However if the community wishes, it could set a level of involvement that would be required to continue membership in the community. In other words, if you don't participate in anyway with the community, then it would be hard to say you're really a member. There should be a minimum of responsibility set to maintain one's standing, I would think. I mean you can always agree with the community's ideas, but to be an active member one would have to be active in something.

So I see a committee selecting what activities members might be interested in participating in, and somehow making those official. This would never mean other activities aren't, just that those particular ones are "sanctioned" or "official".

Being a virtual community of course would limit our options for group activities in a particular location. Of course should the community grow in size, it would be possible to create local groups who could then get together for these functions.

So we should initially focus on activities that members can do alone or with friends. Some of these would take the form of rites or ceremonies. We could adopt existing ones or create entirely new ones.

I'll go into the possibilities of these later...

 

I'm reposting this here from the CB forum.

I envision special ceremonies (like a rock concert) to honor the great musicians of our time. The ones who pushed the envelope, turning entertainment into a visceral and spiritual experience. I'm referring to musicians like the Beatles, Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, etc. These pop idols are already worshipped by millions, so I think it would be a great idea to create a kind of ceremony to honor these musical "saints" who gave their all to their craft, their music a life-long inspiration to so many!

Imagine if we had a traditional setting like a gothic church, or even an outdoor setting like an amphitheater or a stonehenge type place, and we bring in the amps and live bands (or even a dj if no live bands available), and conduct a ceremony to honor their music.

I would expect such music to be a part of a number of COOL ceremonies.

Of course other types of music are more than welcome (let's not forget ppl like Ravi Shankar - great for meditation), sakuhachi, chanting, etc. There would be few limits on this, although I think some kinds of music might be too dissonant to many.

I think such ceremonies would meet themnax's statement:
"the simplest solutions are the most eligant even here. although diksha, the transference of spirit energy involves creating spirit energising settings"

There is such a wonderful spirit energy at rock concerts, no?

 

Yes, well involvement could be as untaxing as helping create the Conscious Bible. Which would require people to do web research and cut & paste & maybe add a commentary here and there. I doubt that would tax anyone more than posting in these forums does.

People who join, and don't contribute in some way, really aren't members as far as I can see.

COOL may be obliged to help its members in some sticky situations, possibly even taking resources away from others. This situation could easily be abused by people who claim to be members but have never contributed in any way. So that is one place where we'll probably need to draw the line.

 

This is being worked on as we speak. Someone is designing a logo of a heart with wings (similar to the sufi logo, but with other symbols). If anyone else likes that idea, you can submit an image for review.

However, nothing is set in stone, so anyone who has a good idea can open another thread and discuss it or post up an image they think might work. We may open this to a vote later.

Speaking of voting, I haven't yet mentioned the DEMOCRATIC nature of COOL. I may have come up with the idea, and at this juncture I have the most reponsibility for it, that doesn't mean I'm the decider of everything. I want you ppl to be involved as much as possible in decision making.

I've got an organizational structure I wrote up a long time ago for this, but I probably need to review it again before I present it. It involves setting up committees to share responsibility for decision making, with the general membership getting to vote on most issues. This is a CORE value of COOL, democracy.

For example on the Conscious Bible, we can either setup a committee to review the submissions and decide themselves what goes in, or we could open it to everyone to vote. We could even make this question a poll for everyone to decide.

I'll probably have to retain authority on questions that affect this site or the coolove.org site, and financial and legal issues that would affect Hip Inc. or myself personally.

So one of the most important activities of COOL members is to VOTE! That too helps keep one "active" in the community.

 

I understand the value of ritual, but this (COOL) could be a point where we can free spirit from dogma.
That would be a demonstration of ONE LOVE.

The great popularity of Pagan sects and the so-called Kabaalah movement (Y Berg's, not actual Zohar-Tanya ecstatic worship) is based on a desire to move from dictated ritual to self-guided ritual, and eventually, being with the infinite.

THat said, perhaps we could agree to mark birth, coming of age, dedication to partners (howz zat for allowing all human partnerships, gay, straight and poly?) passage from childbearing, death and so on...
Now, how to do that?
Obviously no one is born into COOL (yet). So they have ritual that speaks to their soul. That's why white people jump brooms and goys smash glass at weddings. Something speaks to them.
Having a data base (even referred) of life passage rituals around the woorld with the technical and social aspects along with the spiritual aspects would be a great service.
prototype vows/ sevices online.

I strongly suggest looking into ordination mechanics as well. ULC and Spiritual Humanism both on-line ordain.
as for active, next time you are doing something, have COOL referenced.
Protesting? have a line like COOL- Community of One Love (Web site addy) as a tagline on your sign. Then tell people about it.
at a show? stickers! just the right size for Nalgene bottles to cover the brand name.
Making and selling something?
a COOL link on a Web page or a flier in the shopping bag. Heck, COOL cloth bags....

 

I'm 100% with you on that.

Love the day of the dead! It's almost as much fun as halloween! Now there's a celebration I like!

Halloween is a time when we face our fears, and get rewarded for doing so. It's similar to day of the dead.

So what would a COOL Halloween be like?

 

That sounds great Kitty!

I like it all. I think it will take time to develop the ceremonies.

Yes! I thinking naming our own holidays is good, esp. if there isn't any equivalent, or I'd say in the beginning we could start with those holidays that seem most appropriate, and maybe research any ancient rituals that might also seem adaptable to our needs. I wouldn't mind attempting some of the old rituals if they seem intriguing. After all why throw out hundreds if not thousands of years of social adaptations? The ancient ones had lots of time on their hands to test various methods and developed ceremonies that most fulfilled their purpose.

I'm all for modernizing things if they seem too quaint or ridiculous. I'm way more interested in the meaning and effect of the ceremonies than the actual instructions.

Of course I think we should design ALL the ceremonies to be as fun as possible, even somber ones, within reason. (I wanna Balinese funeral - how's that sound for fun?)

I have a list in my head of ceremonies. But I'm just gonna go one at a time so I don't short change any of them.

I like Halloween/Samhain to be a mind expanding experience. I think that a major goal of Halloween and Day of the Dead is to displace the fear that people have of death and the unknown. It's appropriate that Halloween (all souls day) happens in the mid fall when death is all around (leaves falling from trees etc.).

So a psychedelic experience would seem to be an appropriate ceremony on Halloween. There's always an element of fear in every trip. I once dropped acid on Halloween and went to a huge party. It was one of the best nights ever!

Believe it or not, Halloween is just about the ONLY holiday I celebrate anymore! But I'm ready to get more involved. I've just been missing the motivation. Every damn religion's holidays seem so remote in meaning anymore. Not that I ever put much into them.

Oh, wait, Thanksgiving too. I celebrate that because to me it's imbued with the most meaning for everyone. A day of thanks. No religious connotations, no commercialism, just good food and friends and family.

What kind of Thanksgiving ceremony would be COOL? Are we ever going to stop making COOL puns? Oh damn! That was a pun too!

 

Actually thanksgiving is based on a PAGAN holiday. It goes back to harvest festivals in pre-xtian times. The name thanksgiving is definitely of American origin.

I don't see why non-Americans wouldn't like it. In fact wherever I've lived in the world I've turned my non-American friends on to Thanksgiving, and every one of them LOVE it!

The last time was with my buddy Wally Duck and his family in Australia. They slaughtered their biggest, best turkey (yes they raised them, but never ate them or had thanksgiving) for it. They invited their friends and we all gave thanks for our blessings. They liked it so much they said they would continue to do it every year.

And when I was living in Amsterdam, we would invite our Dutch friends over and they would freak out cause the Dutch eat turkey, but never get to see a whole cooked one. In fact a Dutch friend I haven't seen in about 6 years, recently contacted me just to remind me about our Thanksgiving dinners.

Of course it could just be the turkey and trimmings, but I believe every human has a need to "give thanks", and to have at least ONE day dedicated to acknowledging others, the bounty of nature and our good fortune at being alive another year.

 

Ah but don't you see how much FUN & rewarding they can be? Just like halloween and thanksgiving. These are celebrations, but with a minimum of ritual, and what ritual there is, is straight forward, easily understood, but still imbued with meaning.

I've always been put off by religious rituals as they mostly serve the purposes of the clergy; to reinforce their role & status in the community, to keep their flock from straying, to exercise their power over their members (confession is a good example), to provide situations where they can get money from their congregation, to reinforce the dogma, etc.

The benefits for the congregation of course is the "blessing" they supposedly get for births, confirmations, marriages, funerals, etc. This is the part that bothers me the most. The idea that only a church and clergy can "sanctify" these rites of passage, make them legitimate.

I rather see the rites & ceremonies as an opportunity to share our joy and bring the community together (if it's physically possible). There is a lot of bonding that goes on, as well as socializing at these events. These are basic human needs, not self-serving clergy needs, and so that should be the emphasis.

 

All Saints Day? I like the idea, but I think rather than just honor a diversity of "saints" all at one time, dilutes the message each brings. I would almost prefer a series of holidays, each celebrating a different sage or group of sages with a similar message.

For such events honoring people, I think the focus should be on the message, and not the messenger.

For instance a celebration of Ahimsa or World Peace might include acknowledging the contributions of Gandhi, Jainism, Martin Luther King Jr. Then any ceremonies would be tied in with acknowledgement of how important it is for people to actively confront injustice and prejudice with consciousness raising and non-violent protest.

For instance those who wish could participate in a local protest for a different cause each year. So for such a ritual there might be a coordinator, perhaps a committee to oversee the event, but no need for an official "priest" to provide the "sanction", bless the event or act as boss.

 

Actually I think Thanksgiving is one of the least religious holidays, even though the name was thought up by Xtians. It's not like Christmas or Easter, for god's sake.

In fact half the participants in the first American Thanksgiving were NOT xtians, but pagan heathens.

I think ppl need to keep this in mind, and realize that some things are Americanisms, some things are Xtian, but somethings belong to all humanity, that were appropriated by the Church as only by keeping some of the old pagan traditions could they entice so many into the fold.

So it's worthwhile to separate these things in our minds because they are of different origins with different intents.

Thanksgiving is such a neutral word, I'm surprised American fundamentalists haven't Xtianized it more. If so it would be "Thanks to Jesus Day" or some such rot. Like he put the food on the table. Then I could see dumping the name. But you'll be hard pressed to find a better word. After all the only "rites" on that day are "giving thanks" and carving the bird. That's it. No reference to God unless your family likes to say "grace".

BTW, grace is something we should consider as a separate ritual. In fact I think we need to say something similar every time, before lighting up that bong. There's a ritual I feel is really needed. How else can we show our respect for the "herb"?