BEAHIVE - FIRST 'COWORKING' SPACE IN HUDSON VALLEY OPENS IN BEACON

New Kind of Collaborative Workspace — to Include Civic Dimension

'Open Hive' Launch Party - Sat, June 20

A new kind of shared workspace for independent workers, BEAHIVE, has opened its doors in an artisan-renovated 1907 Bell Telephone building right in the heart of Beacon, NY (291 Main Street). BEAHIVE is in part inspired by a growing worldwide trend in work collaboration called "coworking" and is the first such space in the Hudson Valley. The original coworking spaces were started by nomadic internet entrepreneurs seeking an alternative to working in coffee shops and cafes or to isolation in independent or home offices. BEAHIVE takes that idea and adds a civic dimension.

"We're building a community of members from diverse backgrounds with a range of creative and technical talents and a desire to improve our professional lives, our personal lives and our community of Beacon and the surrounding Hudson Valley," says Scott Tillitt, founder of BEAHIVE and Antidote Collective, a socially conscious communications practice.

At the most fundamental level, BEAHIVE provides a shared, creative work environment for the creative class, solopreneurs, microbusinesses and consultants to work in both focused silence and collaboration. The space will also hold personal and professional development workshops and social and cultural events.

"More importantly, we'll foment some ideas to help in creating a lively, living, local community by collaborating on community-based projects," Tillitt adds. "Like an incubator with a social mission."

Opened quietly in May, already the community includes more than a dozen members: writers, PR and marketing consultants, technology consultants, graphic designers and illustrators, photographers, activists, the founder of an arts and education nonprofit, and a nutrition and lifestyle counselor.

The timing is right for such a space. Many economists agree that the record-setting job losses of late will drive more people into self-employment, as has happened during past recessions. Meanwhile, New York State already has one of the largest populations of microbusinesses (fewer than five employees) in the nation, according to statistics published by the Small Business Association (SBA). What's more, community spirit and volunteerism has been on the rise, especially since the recession and Obama's call to service.

A party to introduce the space and the idea behind it to the public, dubbed Open Hive, will be held Saturday, June 20. The official after-party down the street is the popular Next Step party, with proceeds helping to fund Electric Windows, a public art project installed at a 19th century factory building in Beacon. Details below.

OPEN HIVE Launch Party
Sat, June 20, 7-10p
BEAHIVE - 291 Main St, Beacon (map)

• music by singer-songwriter Larry Sansone and guest DJs

• wine provided by Zette

• food provided by local farms

• RSVP appreciated (but not required) - 917-449-6356, scott@beahivebeacon.com

NEXT STEP After-Party
10p-close
$7 - proceeds go towards the Electric Windows public art project
The Piggy Bank - 448 Main St, Beacon

• featuring: VINYL LIFE from Brooklyn (2-DJ set), plus local DJs and special guests, live art

Contact Scott Tillitt for more information: 917-449-6356, scott@beahivebeacon.com.

even buddhist lamas get road rage

Susan Chaityn Lebovits recently wrote a thoughtful profile of Buddhist lama and Boston College professor John Makransky (my client) in the weekly "People" column in the Boston Globe (Sept. 30, 2007): "Sharing enlightenment: In his new book, professor spreads word of Buddhism." (His new book is Awakening Through Love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness from Wisdom Publications.)

I especially like that she questioned the assumption that a Buddhist lama like John should always be calm, cool, collected.

"With his skills and knowledge, one might assume that Makransky is in a perpetual state of calm. When asked if he ever experiences, say, 'road rage,' he answered, 'Of course!' The point of meditation, he said, is not to be instantly transformed into a saint who will never experience anger, but to have a spiritual place to return to -- what you really mean to be as a person."

"'You have to feel what humans are going through in order to have some compassion,' explained Makransky. 'It's not by avoiding or suppressing feelings of rage, anxiety, fear, worry, or nightmares; it's by experiencing them that we can feel compassion for others who are, or who have also shared these feelings.'"

Sends a good message to folks. I've noticed that Westerners, Americans particularly, can become frustrated in their practice or detached from others or even living an illusion -- me included.

mindfulness, compassion, depression

The recent Gold Medal winner the Dalai Lama and top experts in the behavioral sciences are at Emory University in Atlanta this weekend for a special Mind and Life Institute conference on depression.

For nearly 20 years, the Dalai Lama has been meeting with top Western scientists dealing with the mind to "promote the creation of a contemplative, compassionate, and rigorous experimental and experiential science of the mind which could guide and inform medicine, neuroscience, psychology, education and human development." But this Mind and Life conference is the first to focus on depression and explores a unique approach: how to use mindful-based therapies in treating the condition.

Depression is an epidemic. Nearly 10% of American adults -- 21 million people -- have a mood disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the US for ages 15-44. Traditional therapeutic approaches -- drugs, etc. -- get mixed results. This Mind and Life conference will examine the nature of depression and explore the possibility that some meditative practices may be helpful in its treatment or prevention.

Below the image is a media advisory about it. (I'm helping a bit with publicity for it.)

Mindfulness, Compassion, and the Treatment of Depression
Conference with the Dalai Lama
Presented by the Mind and Life Institute and Emory University
October 20 * Atlanta, Georgia

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will meet in dialogue with neuroscientists, academic leaders and mental health professionals at a day-long conference at Emory University on October 20, 2007. Mind and Life XV: Mindfulness, Compassion and the Treatment of Depression is jointly presented by the Mind and Life Institute and Emory University at the Woodruff Physical Education Center on the Emory campus in Atlanta, Georgia.

This event is the fifteenth Mind and Life conference and the first to focus on depression. In the last two decades, these unique gatherings both in the United States and India with the Dalai Lama, neuroscientists, Buddhist scholars, and advanced meditation practitioners, have become the genesis of a new field of scientific research that investigates the effectiveness of techniques to enhance human development and alleviate mental suffering.

Mind and Life XV at Emory University will draw on a wide range of expertise within behavioral sciences and the Buddhist contemplative traditions. This day-long dialogue seeks to understand depression in physiological and cognitive terms, exploring how mindful-based therapies are useful in treating depression. This academic conference will feature presentations to the Dalai Lama by invited scientists and scholars from Emory University as well as other institutions.
Featured Presenters and Speakers
Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D.; Helen Mayberg, M.D.; John D. Dunne, Ph.D.; Richard Davidson, Ph.D.; Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, Negi, Ph.D.; Dean Robert A. Paul, Ph.D.; Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.; Zindel V. Segal, Ph.D.; Charles L. Raison, M.D.; and Adam Engle, J.D. / M.B.A.

Presentations
Early Life Factors in Depression; Neurophysiological and Cognitive Aspects of Depression; Understanding Depression from a Buddhist Perspective; Mindfulness, Compassion and the Psychological Treatment of Depression; Changing the Brain by Transforming the Mind: The Impact of Compassion Training on the Neural Systems of Emotions; the Cultivation of Mindful Compassion; and Compassion Training as a Path to Emotional and Physical Wellbeing.

Panel Discussion
An exciting dimension of the Mind and Life conferences are the lively and insightful dialogues that take place between the Dalai Lama and the presenters after the formal presentations. These moderated panel discussions between the Dalai Lama, neuroscientists and advanced contemplative practitioners continue to be rich source of reflection as ancient wisdom intersects with modern cutting-edge science.

From Mind and Life co-founder Adam Engle: “The Mind and Life XV conference promises to be unique,” said Adam Engle, co-founder of the Mind and Life Institute. “This is the first time that we will be focusing entirely on depression and how mindful-based approaches and meditation on compassion can be effective methods of treatment. We hope this conference will demonstrate the critical need for further research in these promising therapies. Mental health professionals will find this conference of particular interest.”

Conference Details
For full conference details on the presenters and their presentations, visit www.dalailamaemory.org and www.mindandlife.org.

Background
The Mind and Life Institute was co-founded in 1987 by the Dalai Lama, neuroscientist Francisco J. Varela (1946-2001) and entrepreneur Adam Engle for the purpose of initiating a unique dialogue and ground-breaking research between modern science and the great living contemplative traditions, with a particular emphasis on Buddhism. Since 2000, the primary focus of the Institute has been the creation of a new interdisciplinary field of science that asks and answers the question: How do we create and maintain a healthy mind?

The Mind and Life Institute has previously sponsored fourteen conferences bringing together the Dalai Lama with neuroscientists, psychologists, Buddhist meditation masters, and western contemplative leaders. In the last few years, Mind and Life has hosted two ground-breaking conferences in the United States -- at MIT in Boston and in Washington, D.C. For complete information, please visit www.mindandlife.org.

* * *
Media Advisory
For media wishing to cover Mind and Life XV at Emory University, please contact Nancy Seideman -- nseidem@emory.edu or 404-727-0640. Please only contact Nancy with media-related matters. Press seats are limited. Please note: The Dalai Lama is not available for any one-on-one interviews.

For media inquiries about the Mind and Life Institute, please contact Josh Baran -- josh@renewcomm.com or 212-779-2666 or Scott Tillitt -- scott@renewcomm.com, 917-449-6356. Adam Engle, co-founder of the Institute, as well as some of the presenters at the conference, will be available for interviews both in advance and during the conference.

Other Events with the Dalai Lama at Emory
For information about the other activities of the Dalai Lama at Emory University -- First Emory Summit on Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding on October 21, and the Public Talk on Educating the Heart and Mind: A Path to Universal Responsibility on October 22, please visit http://dalailama.emory.edu for full details regarding tickets and media coverage.

to forgive is divine

More from the The Mystery of Love, a two-hour PBS documentary special, airing prime time Dec. 13 across most of the country. (Check local listings.)

Meet Azim Khamisa, a Sufi Muslim father whose 20-year-old son was murdered by 14-year-old gang member Tony Hicks. As he dealt with his sorrow, Azim came to realize that there were “victims at both ends of the gun.” In his heart, he forgave his son’s murderer and began working with the murderer’s grandfather, Ples Felix. Together they formed a foundation and speak with kids about the terrible effects of violence. In the process, they have become as close as brothers. Out of tragedy has developed a loving friendship. 

It's a powerful story, a perfect example of an antidote to the revenge, anger and despair that would typically dominate such a tragedy. The video below was posted on DarynKagan.com, a new online inspirational community from the ex-CNN anchor. (If you don't see the embedded video, click here.)

victoria reveals her secret

Victoria is coming clean with her dirty little secret. Victoria's Secret has been bombarding mailboxes with more than a million catalogs each and every day (395 million a year!) on virgin paper that comes directly from forests, some endangered. The retailer has been destroying one of our planet's most vital resources — North America's Great Boreal forest — for junk mail.

But Victoria has seen the error of her ways and will announce a major change in its catalog practices. See below. If you're in NYC, come by.

This shows that change can happen, corporate mobilization campaigns can work. The future is looking more and more green.

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Scott Tillitt / Antidote Collective - 917-449-6356

Victoria’s Secret And ForestEthics To Announce Milestone In Environmental Campaign Theatrical Event at Manhattan Victoria’s Secret Store TODAY, Dec. 6, 2:45 PM

WHAT: Theatrical, colorful event to announce a milestone in ForestEthics’ environmental campaign to transform the catalog industry. Reverend Billy and his choir and a whole cast of characters will stage a spectacle to celebrate the victory — with street theater, costumes, dancers, camera-friendly high jinks and sound bites.

WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2:45 PM (Please arrive promptly by 2:45 for all the action)

WHERE: Victoria’s Secret Herald Square store, 565 Broadway @ 34th Street, Manhattan

WHO: Leaders from ForestEthics; Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping (www.revbilly.com); a coterie of chainsaw-bearing angels; concerned citizens

For more than three years, San Francisco-based ForestEthics has been educating the catalog industry about its negative environmental impact on the Canadian Boreal Forest. Two years ago, the group launched a campaign against Victoria’s Secret and shortly after began discussions with the company.

At issue throughout the discussions and campaign has been the impact of Victoria’s Secret’s catalog production on Canada’s Great Boreal Forest, which contains 25% of the intact, roadless forest remaining in the world. Stretching from Alaska to Canada’s Atlantic coast, the Boreal is a key regulator of global climate, providing one of our first lines of defense against global warming. It is critical habitat for many species, including endangered caribou and half of North America’s songbirds, and provides $93.2 billion a year in ecosystem services like air and water filtration. Currently, the Boreal is being logged at a rate of two acres per minute, 24 hours a day — an area the size of Manhattan every 5 days. Paper production accounts for nearly 50% of that logging.

ForestEthics spokesperson and Reverend Billy will be available for interviews. More info at www.victoriasdirtysecret.net.