Administrative Board Meeting Minutes

Friday, March 11, 2016

Present:        Gary Bobroff, Craig Chalquist, Jeff Kiehl, Dorene Mahoney, James Newell, Karey Pohn, Eva Rider, Jennifer Selig, Mark Sipowicz

Absent:          Bonnie Bright, Donna May, Brent Potter

Staff: 

Meeting called to order at 12:30p PST.

Opening Ritual (Dorene)

Welcome & Announcements (Taken from throughout the meeting) (James)

1. We welcomed new board member, Jennifer Selig.
2. No one has created and posted their 2-3-minute video about what we appreciate about the Alliance and/or why we choose to serve on the board. Dorene agreed to draft simple how-to instructions for doing so through Zoom; and Jennifer spoke of how easy it is to do it on one’s phone. Everyone is asked to create a video before the next board meeting.
3. From Bonnie: Tentatively, Jerome Bernstein has agreed to present at the October conference. Like Meredith Sabini, he’s not wild about the current title. Meredith suggested a title along the lines the Red Book references to the Spirit of the Depths (versus the Spirit of the Times). Bonnie is working with Jennifer and others to firm up conference details.
4. From Bonnie: Spoke with Aizenstat about the Global Dream Initiative—he wants to get a website up in time for the April 40^th Anniversary. Bonnie sees no potential connection or opportunity for the Alliance at this time.
5. Bonnie will likely have an Alliance table at the Pacifica 40^th Anniversary gala, and Jennifer will see about space on campus to host a social gathering for Alliance members.
6. All board members are invited to drop in on weekly operations meetings whenever they can (Fridays at noon, the same link as board meetings)—all are welcome!
7. Next month’s opening and closing rituals will be done by Craig.

Check-ins, including status of upcoming events (James)

• Jeff: His Community Conversation—a Depth Psychology Exploration on Climate Change—takes place on March 24^th. The Community Conversation about the election will now be pushed to a date closer to the November election (possibly September). Is watching what others are doing, like one by Tom Singer in August.
• James: Community Conversation on the trauma of Racism—Souls of White Folk—is this Saturday March 12^th; Happiness is a Warm Gun is on March 16^th; and Jung 101 starts on March 19^th. All board members welcome.
• Dorene: Now had four sessions of Let’s Talk Work!. Low attendance, but she feels called to continue the program—“build it and they will come.” Believes that this program, like the Deep Meet & Greets, fills an important niche on the Alliance—a reliable and consistent place and time where members can be heard and witnessed (different from events that start and stop). She’s not getting the nuts and bolts questions she expected. Rather, callers pose similar questions around the discomfort of being stuck between work that is no longer meaningful and no vision yet of something new. Jeff recommended using Twitter to boost attendance.  
• Mark: Next Deep Meet & Greet is on Thursday night, 4/14. The last one (3/8) had low attendance, maybe because of election night. Mark and Donna will continue to schedule these every 4-6 weeks, but they welcome other board members hosting additional ones to make them more frequent. A new writing group with Donna May—Seeding Soul Stories—begins on 4/5.
• Jennifer: Glad to be joining the Alliance board. Students in her Pacifica programs are required to invest 30 hours in depth-related activities outside of their coursework, and she imagines pointing them to the Alliance.
• Karey: Still finishing her executive master’s and completing her obligations to the board of the Stan Grof Holotropic Breathwork organization. Wants to spend more time on the Alliance. Will be in Europe during the 40^th anniversary celebration.
• Eva: Launching The Fool’s Journey on April Fool’s Day 4/1, about the archetypal level of the individuation journey. Has been asked to present Awakening the Dream in May in Santa Cruz and is looking at providing the same program on the Alliance. Eva is available and ready to help with the October conference.
• Gary: Has two Introductory presentations and IndieGogo launch parties coming up (3/16 at 7p and 3/20 at 11a PST) to raise funds to self-publish his new book, Our Archetypal Nature. (If you want to join either event, go to http://www.archetypalnature.com/webinars.) He’s posted two new articles in the Alliance Facebook group, and his reading circle—Addiction to Perfection—is going well (two sessions left).
• Craig: Immersed in end-of-school-year obligations, but talking with Brian Swimme about a joint conversation on the Alliance about cosmology and myth.

Review/Discussion of a “Netiquette” Policy (James)

Discussion around implementing a “Depth Netiquette” policy that would set standards and guidelines for content and tone of posts in the Forum and elsewhere on the website. Dorene suggested expanding the depth view in the policy language, and Eva suggested adding reference to “keeping a spirit of inquiry” in posts where opinions are strong and complexes can be triggered. The policy will be refined in next Friday’s 3/18 Ops Meeting and sent to the full board for final review.

Draft Standards for Internet Connectivity (Dorene)

Dorene presented some initial guidance by tech volunteer Jeremy Murray around minimum Internet connectivity/reliability standards for Alliance presenters. It was suggested that shutting off Wi-Fi and attaching an Ethernet cord boosts reliability. Dorene has pulled together a rough and incomplete draft of several of Bonnie’s documents on how to use Zoom (not distributed yet). She agreed to include Jeremy’s final recommendations and send the whole document to the board for final review.

Closing Ritual (Dorene) 

Next month’s board meeting:  April 8^th from 12:30-2:00p PDT. Follow the Zoom link we are always use:

Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/516453618

Or join by phone:  +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll), Meeting ID: 516 453 618 

Meeting adjourned at 1:45p PST

Minutes prepared by Dorene Mahoney.