Licensing photos to be freely used by others

I'm looking for the best way for me to license photos for my purposes, to allow people to use them freely. Maybe I'll use CC0 for now, until I learn more about it.

Networking about service-learning initiatives

I've been wondering how to search for people of all faiths all over the world to correspond with, to share our ideas and experiences in learning to help improve the world. An idea just came to me to search on the Web for service-learning initiatives. With Baha'is that would include the framework for action that's being promoted by the House of Justice.

Fellowship across divides

Photo credit: Audrey Johnson via Stock.XCHNG

What do a smiling student "overwhelmed by the grace and love of my Savior, Jesus Christ," a "Catholic creature unlike any other," a Rabbi who is co-director of a youth fellowship, and an atheist dedicated to breaking free from irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism, have in common?

I'm having lots of fun, and learning a lot, reading their blogs!

I would need to be a much better story teller to even begin to share the fun I've been having, and what I've been learning. All I can do is offer a tiny glimpse:

Goals and deadlines

I've always seen a lot of value in having goals and deadlines, but I haven't had any for years. Emily sets monthly goals, and reports on them each month. After reading her last report, I decided to try re-learning to use goals and deadlines. I'm starting with some very easy goals each week, just to spend two hours doing one thing or another. After the first week, I found Rabbi Zion writing about timed benchmarks, for example reading one midrash a week or a new Jewish book each year, with some very helpful additional tips for what I'm trying to do.

Helping to promote social justice, around the world

Recently on my facebook timeline I was musing about what I can do to help reduce the ravaging and counteract its effects, not only in my geographical vicinity, but all around the world. Then I found Lucia discussing how to have a more loving economy, which is a central issue for me in practicing and promoting social justice, and I had some wonderful exchanges with her on that topic. After that, I saw Emily, and an atheist blogger, discussing some social justice issues close to my heart.

What I saw Lucia saying rejoiced me so much I laughed out loud! Again and again I've been cheered and refreshed, and moved to joyful tears and laughter, in reading those blogs, and interacting with their authors.

Status update on projects

Contents:

1. Practicing and promoting better conduct on the Internet.
2. Cheering and refreshing the down-cast.
3. Overcoming my own prejudices.
4. Cross-pollination across ideological boundaries.
5. Cross-pollination between professional scholars and other people.
6. Practicing and promoting blogging.
7. Helping people find and use resources.
8. Finding better ways to serve on the Internet.
9. Finding ways to project the framework for action into Internet neighborhoods.
10. Studying and practicing the ideas on the Baha'i Internet Agency Web site.
11. Learning to be a better friend.
12. Helping stigmatized people navigate through the cruelty.
13. Scrapbook of individual initiatives.

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1. Practicing and promoting better conduct on the Internet.

I've made a list of ideas about what individuals might be able to do to help calm the tempest of Baha'is maligning each other across ideological divides. I want to practice each one myself for a while, before I try to find other people to work on it with me.

2. Cheering and refreshing the down-cast.

For now I'm just focusing on a few friends and people in my family, trying to learn to be a better friend. Practicing fellowship with stigmatized people will be part of the first project above.

3. Overcoming my own prejudices.

Still uncovering more, every time I get free of some.

4. Cross-pollination across ideological boundaries.

That will be part of the first project.

5. Cross-pollination between professional scholars and other people.

I've started studying some works of scholars, and I'm planning to discuss them with other people.

6. Practicing and promoting blogging.

Practicing, here. Reading some blogs, and linking to some from facebook.

7. Helping people find and use resources.

I've found someone I might be able to work with on that.

8. Finding better ways to serve on the Internet.

I might help with the Ruhi Resources Web site, and/or the Ruhi Institute Web site.

9. Finding ways to project the framework for action into Internet neighborhoods.

One of the ideas for the first project above involves some training on the Internet, that could become part of this project.

10. Studying and practicing the ideas on the Baha'i Internet Agency Web site.

Off and on, mostly off.

11. Learning to be a better friend.

I've thought of some ideas of things some of my friends and family members are doing, that I could try doing too, but I haven't actually started doing any of them.

12. Helping stigmatized people navigate through the cruelty.

Not currently walking with any stigmatized people. Trying to learn to be a better friend to some other people in my life. I'll be walking with stigmatized people again, when I go into some protest forums, as part of the first project above.


13. Scrapbook of individual initiatives.

I started working on the pages, and found a few examples, but right now it's on hold, while I work on the backbiting problem.

Ideas for promoting gay equality in the Baha'i Faith

1. Stop trying to prove there's nothing wrong with gays, or with what some of them might be doing. No one should have to prove there's nothing wrong with them, or what they do, to be treated kindly and fairly.

2. Don't strike back at the wall of quotes. Just ignore it as out of context, and irrelevant to whether gays should be treated kindly and fairly.

3. Stop arguing about gay marriage. Just do it.

4. If you want gay marriages to be registered as "Baha'i" marriages, then propose some ideas about how, precisely, *all* the marriage laws could be applied to two women or two men.

Thoughts of a lover of Baha'u'llah about some issues

I might put up some Web pages "Some thoughts of a lover of Baha'u'llah about some issues associated with campaigns against the House of Justice."

- Infallibility
- Authenticity, authority, role and functions of the House of Justice
- Women on the House of Justice
- Guardians after Shoghi Effendi
- Disenrollments
- Separation of church and state
- Censorship and repression
- Corruption of institutions
- The framework for action
- Baha'i theologians
- Gays and homosexuality
- Freedom of conscience
- Influence, reputation and future of the Baha'i Faith
- Modernity and post-modernity
- Fundamentalism
- Liberal Baha'is
- Shunning
- Takfir
- Academic study of the Baha'i Faith
- The Dawning Place

Vision, goals, strategies, lines of action

I really need to get off of here and back to my neglected responsibilities elsewhere, but it's so hard to give up pursuing these new ideas, and maybe leave them to wither away like so many others. I'll try to put some helpful clues here, in case I do come back.

Vision: Helping to release the potential in the diversity of Baha'is.

Some goals:
- People learning to love and trust Baha'u'llah more.
- People learning to better understand and wholeheartedly serve the interests of the House of Justice.
- More and better independent investigation.
- More and better individual initiative and responsibility.
- More open, frank and unfettered discussions among Baha'is, about whatever anyone wants to discuss.
- More and better cross-fertilization.

Strategies and lines of action:
- Previous posts, and notes, here and elsewhere, and further observation and reflection.
- Search for more potential collaborators.
- Learn to be a better friend.
- Learn to be a better friend.
- Learn to be a better friend.
- Practice what I'm trying to promote, in roleplay and preferably in real situations.

click, click, whirr, CLICK!
Training courses on the Internet for butterflies and helpmates. Yes.