Friday, April 30th, 2010 by Debra Oakland
I live in beautiful Laguna Beach, California. A true resort and artist community, home of the “hippies” from the 60′s to current day. All walks of life enjoy living here. Surfers and sunbathers crowd the beaches. We have activists, sports enthusiasts, tourists buzz through town all year long. We are home to the Pageant of the Masters. I could go on, but you get the picture. Laguna Beach is a magical town.
Now Laguna Beach has Transition Laguna, which is the 10th official Transition Town Community in the United States. The 129th in the world. This is exciting to me. Let me explain. The Transition Initiative can be a town, village, or any community. They ask the question “For all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how do we significantly rebuild resilience (to mitigate the effects of Peak Oil and economic contraction) and drastically reduce carbon emissions (to mitigate the effects of Climate Change)?” Each community forms it’s own Transition Group, creating a sustainable future for the residents.
Check out the The Transition Handbook
If you would like to know more about this, visit one of the websites above. May 14th 2010 Transition Laguna Beach will host a party called “The Great Unleashing” from 6 to 10 p.m. May 14 at the Sawdust Art Festival, 935 Laguna Canyon Road. Sponsored by Hurley. Awesome party: Free. Brew, Food, Bands, Eco-Exhibits, Silent Auction. Motivate for Community Action Breakfast the next morning, Saturday, May 15th, 9:00 am to Noon.
May 15th come to Tivoli Terrace at Festival of the Arts Grounds for the Community Action Group Breakfast. Enjoy great food, a motivating celeb key note speaker, and a chance to form action groups. This “Open Space”, is a creative, playful, yet focused opportunity to make a difference. Don’t miss this event! Are you interested in sustainable living, clean water, organic food, safe lighting for your home? This is a venue that will provide you with education, while you are meeting great people, and having fun. Life is supposed to be fun right? I hope to see you there!
Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online
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Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 by Debra Oakland
A friend of mine Paul Gruber is the mastermind behind The Backroom Film Festival. Why am I sharing this at Living in Courage? I find Paul courageous for creating an opportunity for people to not only view inspiring short films, but to get involved by making their own short film and becoming a part of The Backroom tv community.
Debra Oakland @ Living in Courage Online
Who Are We?
The Backroom is a group of individuals who are committed to improve our communities through a series of short film festivals designed to present films in the categories of inspiration/motivation, comedy and animation. Our vision is to create a global “Backroom” in which we are “Affecting people in a positive way.”
“We believe that in the future there will be a greater desire for short films, and we’ll need the talent to make them.” Paul Gruber
What We Do
The Back room searches for opportunities to promote people in our communities who are excited about life and willing to share their knowledge and skills with others. The Backroom understands the importance of how “giving starts the process of receiving.”
In addition to the festivals, we are also developing and promoting various programs – bringing together people who have something to share with those who have something to learn. Online networks, informal get-togethers and formal events are being created to encourage people from various backgrounds to join the www.thebackroom.tv community.
What greater way to promote new talent than through a gathering of short film makers and short film enthusiasts? The Backroom Short Film Festival is an event that is designed to showcase people who have an inspiring story, unique talent, or special skill from which we can all benefit.
How Can I Become Involved?
Are you an aspiring filmmaker? Do you have a special skill or talent? Do you have a unique story to share and do you enjoy short films? Be part of a community in which we live, learn and grow and be inspired through the process where, “giving starts the receiving.” Be a part of an experience that is positive and unforgettable.
For more information, go to www.thebackroom.tv or contact Paul at 941.234.3553.
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Paul Gruber
Phone: 941-234-3553
Email: HYPERLINK “mailto:paul@peopleareready.tv” paul@peopleareready.tv FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ST Petersburg, Fla., – The Back Room Short Film Festival of Sarasota is seeking film submissions for a short film festival at the NOVA 535 on September, 9th from 6 – 9 pm. This one-day festival will feature films from 2 – 7 minutes in length in three categories: inspiration/motivation, comedy and animation.
“This is a film festival designed as a family friendly occasion with the movies rated PG or less,” said Paul Gruber, founder of HYPERLINK “www.PeopleAreReady.com ” www.PeopleAreReady.com and HYPERLINK “http://www.TheBackRoom.tv” www.TheBackRoom.tv “We are encouraging people of all ages to participate and are reaching out to schools and other groups to encourage children, teens and young adults to submit a film.”
About HYPERLINK “http://www.TheBackRoom.tv” www.TheBackRoom.tv
The Back Room Community, founded by Paul Gruber, is a group of individuals whose vision is to improve the community we live in through inspiriting, teaching, learning and applying the skills necessary to be successful in an ever-changing world.
Our vision is to “Affect people in a positive way”.
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Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 by Debra Oakland
The world can seem off balance as old systems crumble, making way for a peaceful new way of living. We are all one. When we recognize that fact we truly will be living a new earth experience.
I quote a journal article excerpt from Rene Wadlow in her article The Courage for Peace -”Favoring a relational, intuitional, opportunity-oriented way of thinking and a community, interconnective, partnership approach to social relations, this new way of being is built on our emerging understanding of universal truths: matter is energy with meaning and motion. Life is not static, it is flow. We are not broken, we are whole. If we oppress others, we oppress ourselves.”
I don’t know about you, but I for one do not feel we are broken. I know we are whole. Until each of us rise up and take our power back and come together as a common voice, change will only take longer. What is so hard about living in Peace? Who would not want to? Really now, who in their right mind does not want a peaceful life? Who doesn’t want love? It is all up to us. It is decision time. Time to wake up out of a deep hypnotic sleep. Choose peace, say yes to life and Life will say yes to you. This new world is what courage is all about.
Debra Oakland @ Living In Courage Online
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