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Newsletter of Project Renaissance and Win Wenger
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December 2003 HAPPY HOLIDAYS! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Quote of the Month
* Announcements
* Events
* FEATURE ARTICLE: "The Problem of Problems - A Meta-Level View"
by
* Comments & Feedback
* Links - archives, back issues, homepage
* Reader Questionnaire
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by
a majority of the people."
-- Giordano Bruno {1548-1600, Italian Philosopher}
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
~~~
WELCOME to all new members who have joined us this month. We hope
to hear from you and to give you much food for thought. Back issues
are available upon request. Just add the month to the subject line:
mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=BackIssues
~~~
A GRAND EXPERIMENT - YOUR HELP INVITED - In November/December 2003,
members of Project Renaissance, all those who had attended the
Double Festival's trainer training sessions in November, undertook
a fascinating experiment: For 3 weeks straight, every day state
three questions and answer at least two of them, using any means
desired, but particularly Image-Streaming or the other main
methods of Project Renaissance. Write a summary of each question
into a journal, including notes on the process used, the results
obtained and the effectiveness of the solution enacted. Share
them with a "buddy", a partner, through a brief email report.
The goal of the experiment was to reinforce the important action
of formulating questions and the ready use of Project Renaissance
techniques in obtaining useful solutions. Most participants had
difficulty maintaining the full schedule of 3 questions per day
for 3 weeks (63 questions in all), but did report a good success
rate of those questions they did process.
We'd like to modify the original terms of this experiment and
invite you to participate and report back on your results:
1. Formulate 2 questions a day, 3 days a week, for 3 weeks.
2. Keep a written journal (notebook or electronic format).
3. Have a partner with whom to exchange findings, in person
or by email.
4. Answer at least one of the two questions, leaving any
unanswered question open for future developments, since your
subconscious resources will continue to work on it unbidden,
intensifying its urgency over time.
Your questions can be on any subject or problem that you
need to have resolved. Part of this experiment is to practice
the art of asking questions. Questions are the portals to
creativity.
Please advise us of your intended participation by email to:
mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=Experiment . If you do
not have a partner, let us know and we will try to connect you
with another participant. Please tell us your preferred start
and finish dates encompassing the three weeks.
At the conclusion of the Experiment, we will summarize reports
and publish an analysis. Your names and private details will
not be revealed.
~~~
TESTIMONIALS COMPENDIUM - Project Renaissance is collecting input
from successful users of its methods. Have you used Image-Streaming,
Borrowed Genius, Toolbuilder, Windtunnel or any of the many other
powerful problem-solving and creative solution-finding methods
of Win Wenger and Project Renaissance? Have you found them to be
personally helpful and effective for you? Do you think they are of
value to people in their everyday life? Would you take a few minutes
and write a short account of how they have helped you, and email it
to Project Renaissance's Executive Director, Tijl Koenderink, at
mailto:tijl@dare2b.nl?subject=Testimonials . Your name will not be
published without your authorization.
~~~
A FEW MORE TRAINERS NEEDED -
Project Renaissance is seeking additional dedicated individuals who
like to help others help themselves, and who would like to learn the
techniques of Project Renaissance to this end. We are planning
trainer workshops through various channels.
If you'd like to find out more about the possibility of becoming a
trainer, whether full-time or part-time, please email your interest
to Project Renaissance's Executive Director, Tijl Koenderink, at
mailto:tijl@dare2b.nl?subject=Training
A special workshop will be held in
for further announcements here and on the website calendar soon.
~~~
SUBSCRIBER OR MEMBER? If you currently only subscribe to
you can upgrade your participation in Project Renaissance to full
membership, free. Membership in Project Renaissance entitles members
to additional benefits. If you're not yet a member, please register
now, here: http://www.winwenger.com/regmem.htm - or from link on
the homepage, http://www.winwenger.com .
~~~
DUPLICATE MAILING? If you received two (or more?) copies of this
issue of
mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=duplicate
~~~
How you can participate...
* You can post messages on Project Renaissance's discussion board
about any Project Renaissance topic and join any ongoing
discussions. No log-in required. Please visit the homepage at
http://www.winwenger.com and click the Discussion Board link.
To post a message right now, click here:
http://bbs.cartserver.com/bbs/b/7733/#PostMessage
* The long-established, popular Image-Streaming egroup is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imagestream - requires Yahoo sign-in.
* Submit articles, comments or questions for possible inclusion in
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EVENTS
~~~
Free monthly meetings of High Thinktank...Open to the public.
Meetings begin at 7:30pm sharp. New topics each time.
Please check the Project Renaissance website calendar
for details and directions, at
http://www.winwenger.com/events.htm
Due to the holiday rush there is no December meeting. The next
meeting will be in January 2004, date and topic to be announced.
We wish all our friends and participants a very joyous holiday
season, by whatever name you celebrate these days.
~~~
January 10, 2004 - 9:30am to 5:00pm
Workshop, CREATIVE FACILITATION THROUGH IMPROV
Registration and social from 9:00-9:30am
Center for Being and Becoming
http://www.centerforbeingandbecoming.com
This workshop will be limited to 20 people.
Tuition: $250 per person. Half price discount ($125) for
independent professionals and self-employed entrepreneurs.
To reserve a space, please send a nonrefundable deposit of $25 to:
Michelle James
The balance can be paid at the door.
Directions and a visual map:
http://www.centerforbeingandbecoming.com/contact-us.htm
~~~
May 13-18, 2004 - Project Renaissance Workshop and Training,
~~~
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Feature Article:
THE PROBLEM OF PROBLEMS -- A META-LEVEL VIEW
by
Problems are juncture points along the road of life. A problem is a
situation where a decision must be made, a choice selected. We can
formulate the problem as a question for which a suitable answer is
to be found.
Any problem can be broken down into smaller parts that build towards
its resolution. And its source can be traced to preceding events. In
fact, it is only a situation that has existed and moved along for a
long time until it develops to a point where it begins to interfere
noticeably with our comfort, convenience or happiness, where we no
longer get or have what we want or need.
Some people manage to minimize problem moments by arranging their
lives with some foresight and vigilance, keeping as much freedom
of choice and flexibility as possible. Always have an alternative
to fall back on. "Plan B" is not a joke; it's a vital strategy.
It is a sad moment when someone is forced into a course of action
because "I had no choice."
The future unfolds through the intermingling of the countless
choices people make every moment of their lives. We perceive the
changing patterns with curiosity or equanimity until something
arises that impinges negatively on our own existence. "I have a
problem," we say. For help or relief we turn to friends, family,
lawyers, and any number of ingenious methods that can suggest a way
out.
Problems may be as minute as which movie to watch tonight, or as
huge as whether to go to war against another country. Each question
creates a whole series or chains of subsidiary questions, each with
its own "weight" of emotional resonance determining its priority.
Global problems are not in our personal area to act upon. Or are
they? They are the culmination of many incremental decisions. At
any point we can state our case and not give in, not go along.
We can write letters to editors, to congressmen, to each other.
We can use the Internet to alert others and seek alternatives.
Never underestimate the power of ideas.
Many hands could move the pyramids. Many minds can save mankind.
Creative problem-solving techniques, such as taught by Project
Renaissance, aim to look "outside the box" for fresh ways to view
a specific problem and its causes. Tried and true stock answers
may no longer work and may, in fact, contribute to the problem.
The methods that access deeper resources are able to encompass
a far greater range of options and come up with more effective
resolutions. Try it; you'll be pleasantly surprised. The Creative
Problem-Solving Techniques section of the Project Renaissance
website, http://www.winwenger.com , has a fine menu of methods
ready to use.
Good answers should contain not only a resolution to the current
problem but the seed of prevention of its recurrence. In brief, a
solution should not be just a Bandaid but a cure. For if we do not
learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them. This line
is as true of individual lives as of the sweep of history, for
which it was originally written.
It is a good idea to practice prevention in another way: Examine
our lives and situations periodically to see if any problems are
in the developing stage, and head them off before they become
problems. Stay vigilant, stay informed, stay prepared.
This time of year is especially suitable for this theme, as most
folks set about drawing up "New Year's Resolutions", plans and
actions to improve their lives in the coming year. Whether we
carry out the resolutions is another matter, and perhaps we need
a meta-resolution to resolve to carry out our resolutions!
I wish to all our readers, all our friends and relatives and all
of humanity, each and every one, a better future wherein even the
greatest problems yield to creative solutions by individuals of
good will and wisdom. We CAN think and visualize our way out of
today's ominous impasse. Peace in our time! Peace and love,
-
============================================
About the Author:
company that designs and makes games and puzzles in the recreational
mathematics field. Puzzle-solving, problem-resolution and decision-
making are part of her daily routine, an idea game. Her website is
http://www.gamepuzzles.com . Kate is also webmaster for the Project
Renaissance website and managing editor for
registrar for membership in Project Renaissance.
~~~
To send feedback privately to the author, email
mailto:kate@gamepuzzles.com?subject=Metaview
To send your comments about this article to
mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=Metaview
To post your feedback or promote a discussion of this topic:
http://bbs.cartserver.com/bbs/b/7733/#PostMessage
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COMMENTS & FEEDBACK
~~~
Rick ( mailto:ricks_trip@yahoo.com )
"Standing Up for Image-Streaming" -- One of the things that helped
me get a grip on Image-Streaming when I first started practicing
was to Image-Stream (IS) while standing up.
I noticed that I'd sway as my point of view changed. I'd reach out
and touch things and describe not only how they felt, but what my
arm was doing. "I lift my right arm over my head to touch the leaf.
It is rough and moist."
I'd also comment on physiological changes I noticed while ISing. "As
I surf into the tube of the wave, I notice a sensation like a pipe
running between my collar-bone and my pelvic bone. While the rest of
my body is actively engaged in riding the wave, there is complete
stillness in this pipe, as if it's a vacuum. My heart is beating
fast and I am exhaling extremely slowly and evenly."
If you'd like to become more aware that you are experiencing both
visual and kinesthetic streams of thought, you might try this.
Image-Stream with the starting point that you are wearing a thick
black velvet blindfold. You feel a door-knob in your hand. You open
the door and start feeling your way around. After several minutes,
when you feel it's time, take off the blind-fold and look around,
noticing the visual aspects of the things you were touching.
Another fun game I like to play with my kids is "blind play-dough
sculpting." Just close your eyes and try to sculpt play-dough into
a familiar object, or an imagined object. Faces are lots of fun.
Here are a few practical suggestions for anyone who tends to Image-
Stream from one scene to another so quickly that you can't describe
one image in detail.
While you're talking to someone on the phone, find a way to describe
something that you are looking at or have seen. It's best if it's
something that your listener had never seen before. "You should see
the dress that Jill is wearing today...." Be very aware of how much
information you have to share before your listener expresses
recognition.
Record yourself describing a real shoe for 10 minutes without pause.
Then listen to the recording twice. The first time, look at the shoe
while you are listening and notice details that you forgot to record.
Then Image-Stream on the act of painting a realistic picture of that
shoe. "I'm standing in front of my canvas with my brush in hand, now
I am dipping it in the red paint on my palette and my first line is
of the curve of the toe. The angle of the line is down to the right
and as my brush gets close to where the toe will be, it becomes
almost perfectly horizontal before curving sharply down and the
left."
Allow yourself to change images rapidly during your ISing session.
Then while you are listening to the tape, push pause after images
that seemed important to you that you didn't spend much time
describing. Describe those images in more detail on another tape
recorder. Listen to it twice.
-- Rick ( mailto:ricks_trip@yahoo.com )
~~~
Win Wenger ( mailto:wwenger101@aol.com?subject=Methods ):
There are now hundreds of various methods for solving problems
effectively. Most people don't know of any, and most people thus
remain stuck in problems which they could solve easily if they
used the right methods. In the interests of Project Renaissance's
mission to develop ever better methods, we'd like some input and
feedback from you:
1. What is the problem-solving method you use most of the time?
What is there about it that makes it your method of choice?
2. What problem-solving method do you use when problems stubbornly
remain unsolved? Why do you think it works?
3. What have you found to be actually the most effective problem-
solving method you've ever used? Why does it work for you?
4. What would you like to have as a feature in a good problem-
solving method that you don't have now?
Please email your comments and ideas to Win Wenger:
mailto:wwenger101@aol.com?subject=Methods
~~~
Christmas Riddle: What does a cat get from walking on the beach?
"Sandy Claws".
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LINKS
* Back issues of THE STREAM by email upon request from
mailto:thestream@winwenger.com?subject=BackIssues
* Archived copies of Capital Ideasmiths are here:
http://www.debateit.net/projren/newsletter/index.htm
* Project Renaissance homepage: http://www.winwenger.com
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UNSUBSCRIBE: If you do not wish to continue receiving this
newsletter from Project Renaissance, please send an email to
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PROJECT RENAISSANCE
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READER QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Of the many problem-solving methods available, which traditional
ones have you tried? Mark all that apply, and put an X in its
value to you, whether Low, Fair, or High:
Scientific method Low___ Fair___ High___
Sleeping on it Low___ Fair___ High___
Calling in an expert Low___ Fair___ High___
Prayer Low___ Fair___ High___
Art or music stimulus Low___ Fair___ High___
Hypnosis Low___ Fair___ High___
Other______________ Low___ Fair___ High___
2. Please rate these classic problem-solving methods:
Brainstorming Low___ Fair___ High___
Osborn-Parnes CPS Low___ Fair___ High___
Synectics Low___ Fair___ High___
Psycho-Cybernetics Low___ Fair___ High___
deBono's Six Hats Low___ Fair___ High___
Other______________ Low___ Fair___ High___
3. Which of these more recent methods have you found useful:
ImageStreaming Low___ Fair___ High___
High Thinktank Low___ Fair___ High___
Over-the-
Basic Associative Process Low___ Fair___ High___
CrabApple Low___ Fair___ High___
Windtunnel Low___ Fair___ High___
Freenoting Low___ Fair___ High___
To return this questionnaire, simply reply to this email, deleting
all but the questionnaire portion. Mark your answers with an X
except where long answer may be indicated.
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