A guest contribution

 Dr. Donna Kuck, DVM wrote this April 9, 2011, about the GAA WORKSHOP AND THE NEW ECONOMY

The Global Abundance Alliance is offering a 1-day Workshop near the San Francisco Airport on May 23, 2011 – the Monday following the Conference for Global Transformation. Our Workshop presenter is the founder of Karma Clinic – a “pay-it-forward” medical clinic in Berkeley, CA. This topic – of living life through gifts and service (side by side with the fiat currency economy) is especially timely in light of events in the US and abroad over the last few months.

The bitter, ideological facedowns in our State and Federal Government have caused many of us to take a long, hard look at how we - and the rest of the country - conduct our business. We’ve had to look into our own hearts and ask what ARE our values? What are we willing to sacrifice, what are we willing to give? Where have we been blind, where have we been numb? What are we accountable for and who do we hold to account? What can we do at the local level that makes a difference at the national or global level? What have creative, resourceful people done during other times of upheaval and change – or when money is scarce?

Many of us have read Lewis Hyde’s book The Gift, or are aware of Bernard Lietaer’s work (The Future of Money), or have even been following Frances Griffiths’ Blogs on money and alternate currency . You may have even been on the GAA call with Nipun Mehta, founder of CharityFocus.org – which operates on the pay-it-forward philosophy. His Karma Kitchen in Berkeley, CA is famous. There are no prices on the menu. You are a guest. And – you are welcome to pay for someone else’s meal in the form of money, through service, or some other form of gift. The food is not “free.” It is a “gift.”

Our Workshop presenter, Aumatma Shah, ND is one of Nipun’s protégées. She regards healing as a gift, but it is not “free.” There is a powerful distinction here – which is part of the focus of our Workshop. How DOES one participate in a Gift-based exchange? It calls for us to step into a state of Gratitude, Trust, Surrender and Generosity. Dare I say LOVE? What would YOUR world, your community, your Promise - look like if all your interactions came out of this state of being? This is what we will explore!

The cost of the Workshop is $35 USD – to cover the costs of the space and food. The organizers and presenter freely give their services as a gift to you. But we advertise the cost as $35 plus GIFT. Part of our exploration will be what we mean by GIFT, and then it is up to you to create what GIFT means - to you. It could be monetary; it could be an object; it could be a service; it could be actions or ideas you take back to your own community. The important thing is that there is a flow of human interaction.

We are going to be continuing our discussion of economy and alternative currency in Blogs and emails to GAA members and through the Impossible Promise Keepers. It is a rich and timely conversation!