Gaia: High Impact

Re: São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil

http://dancingdragon.gaia.com — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:02:29 GMT

I would like to invite you all to join a new pod. The Smaction Love Corp. aka. Love in Action.

This was a new board (at the request of the creator) on the zaadz Love Corp pod just before it disappeared.

Let’s spread love…

Historical Shifts in Consciousness

http://folksoul.gaia.com — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 18:53:42 GMT

One thing I like to look at is what are the events in the past that created shifts in consciousness.

The boston tea party in american history is one thing that was clearly pivotal.

The declaration of independence was a potent document.

Anyone else have ideas they reference? I haven't thought about it a lot on this particular theme, but would be curious what actions others' reference from history.

cheers.

Welcome to this board -- what it's all about

http://martinmessier.gaia.com — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:19:26 GMT

Hi,

This board is all about practical ideas that can be put into action to make a difference. A lot in my work here in Brazil has to do with awareness and introducing new ideas into the cultural mindset to provoke change. This, in general, forces me to come up with ideas that instantly call people's attention and gives me massive rapport.

For instance, the current idea I have in my pipeline is to call attention to the environmental issue. To do this, I want to unite 4.000 people, mainly teenagers, and give a human hug to a pond/lagoon that we have here in town. You can see it here (I know, the picture is tiny...).

Instantly, this calls attention. You can call the media to film the event, give interviews, involve activists, etc. It's a logistical challenge, but it's worth it.

That's what this board is about. Practical ideas. Good ideas. Silly ideas. Ridiculous ideas. Absurdo ideas. Impossible ideas. All to provoke shifts in consciousness.

Remember, remember...

Martin

São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil

http://martinmessier.gaia.com — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 12:53:09 GMT

Hi team,

I'm in São Luis, Maranhão, located in the Northeastern part of Brazil. We're on the coastal part of Brazil, where the Caribbean Sea starts to mix with the Atlantic Ocean.

Since I arrived three years ago, I've diagnosed a few things that could use some additional spin. First, the economy is entirely driven by politics. São Luis receives money from the federal government, and the state and municipal governments provide most of the jobs here. So the economy mostly runs on that money. All in all, the region here is incredibly well-positioned geographically for outstanding agricultural production but it's not happening.

As in many developing societies, everyone here is focused on trying to become "like the big guys". They want to be like the people in Rio, Recife, São Paulo and, above all, the US and Europe. This gets youth to focus on liberal professions, such as law practice, journalism, medicine, nursing, etc. that are not productive in nature.

Here are a couple of key leverage points which, if targeted systematically, can make a huge difference in the quality of life.

1. Tourism and culture: São Luis is an amazingly attractive location, due to natural beauty, historical value, unique culinary qualities, and cultural attractions. Unfortunately, São Luis only has 1,500 beds in the city. Therefore, you can't hold conventions, huge congresses and promote tourism too heavily because of this limit.

2. Agriculture: Youth must be made aware that Maranhão has a distinctive advantage here. I recently checked out in a Rio bookstore Perricone's latest book, The Perricone Promise, where he lists "Açaí" as the number 1 anti-aging food. Well, my friends, Maranhão is where that stuff comes from. If Perricone talks about it, I'm sure millions of Americans (and others) want to buy it, and we should be happy to supply you with it.

3. Education: Youth must learn entrepreneurship and visionary skills. We're still at a blue-orange meme level here, so we need to beef up their identity. Everyone here wants a job, is worries about it, and dreams of working for the government. They must be exposed to passionate, lively, engaged and committed people who work tirelessly on a daily basis to add value to their community, whether through a business or an NGO. They need to take charge of their destiny. Everyone here thinks the problems are the government's fault. We must change that and I'll play a part in it.

Here are my two cents on the place where I currently live. Any ideas for me on how to take a step forward?