Newsletter

How much do you love music? Can an old song transport you to another time? Can a sad song make you cry? Do you tap your foot to the beat, or jump out of your chair to dance like nobody’s watching? Maybe you are a maker of music, or just learning. Music is part of our lives all the way down to our bones. Don’t miss a beat! Join us in this celebration of music in the many ways it touches our lives.

In the fall newsletter we explore relationships large and small. We examine the interconnectedness of all creations, from people to animals and insects, to plants and inanimate objects. We strive to remember that we all live within a larger system of relationships, and must maintain balance and harmony with all other real and perceived spiritual beings with whom we share this realm.

The Cobb Institute summer newsletter is a celebration of books and writers of books. No one in the process movement has written more books than John Cobb, and we celebrate him, along with Thomas Jay Oord and Bruce Epperly. We will consider the inspiration and also expansion of the process audience to include but also go beyond academia. We also highlight Process Century Press, a process publisher. We hope you might find a new process book to add to your bookshelf.

The Cobb Institute, a community for process & practice. That’s who we are. And if you are reading this, you’re probably part of our community. But what do we mean and hope for when we talk about building community? In this newsletter we consider a variety of ways in which togetherness has shaped our identity.

Help, Thanks, Wow! According to Anne Lamott all prayers usually fall into one of those three categories. As a process thinker and a hospice chaplain, I weave them together when I pray with my patients. That’s what I tried to do in this newsletter, because life is full of “Help, Thanks, Wows”. This woven prayer is the everyday prayer at the Cobb Institute. The work of the Institute requires the help of friends like you, and we are grateful for the help we receive. Thank you! When we look at this community of friends and all we have accomplished, we say Wow! We hope you enjoy this prayer-filled newsletter.

Gardening is a process in praxis. It is an act of rebellion. It is a creative act done in partnership with the earth, so it provides an excellent concrete example of one of the technical terms used by process thinkers: concrescence. Concresence means “growing together.” At the Cobb Institute we are imagining the possibilities of urban agriculture, restorative farming, and sustainable local sources of food. Check out our fall newsletter to see what’s been growing together at the Institute.

We have been thinking about beauty a lot lately, as we are imagining a beautiful world for the common good. Our aim is to build an ecological civilization that would include artists of all kinds. Beauty comes in many forms, and we hope you will be inspired to seek out beauty too.

February is a time to give special attention to those we love, and spring is just around the corner. In this issue we invite you to look forward with hope to the emergence of new life and to fall madly in love with the world. May world-loyalty and world-love fill our hearts and move us in a new direction.

At the Cobb Institute it’s time to look at the possibilities and “Dream Bigger.” In this issue we reflect on the changing seasons, and then consider what’s possible with ambition. Come Dream Big with us!

Ever since I joined the Cobb Institute, I felt like I gained an instant family. That is exactly how we want it at the Cobb Institute. Our theme for July is “Building Community.” In this newsletter you will find thoughts and poems about what it means to be connected with others.