What is an Evolver Spore?

Evolver Spores: Spreading the Network

On June 17, Evolver.net invites you to join the first of our regular off-line gatherings, hosted by local communities in the US and abroad.

Why “Evolver Spores”?

Spores can land anywhere, find the right spot, and quickly develop an aboveground and underground network that supports many types of life through symbiosis. Evolver Spores are community meet-ups, creative salons, hubs of ecological activation and social inspiration. Evolver Spores bring people and groups together who share the ideal of a more beautiful and equitable world, and help them find the collaborators and tools they need to manifest their vision.

If there is not yet an Evolver Spore in your local community, you can start one yourself. Please fill out the application form (attached), send it in to jonathan((at))evolver((dot))net, and join the evolution.

Evolver Spores: Spreading the Network

The theme of our first Evolver Spore gathering on June 17 will be “Spreading the Network”. We ask you to consider what it will take to build a grassroots network of awakening consciousness and pragmatic optimism during this time of economic meltdown, environmental assault, and endless war.

How do we communicate with people who are constrained by old belief systems and thought patterns? How do we open their minds and their hearts to a positive vision of transformation, that sees industrial farming replaced by organic permaculture, centralized banking that creates artificial scarcity supplanted by local currencies and alternative ways of exchanging value, militarism replaced by a new global movement of nonviolent activism, and so on? At the same time, how do we excite and involve people who are receptive to new ideas but not yet active in working for change?

How do we make positive possibilities seem as tangible and powerful to people as the negative and fear-based visions pushed by the mainstream media? How do we grow, develop, and spread a resilient network that outmodes the current blockades through direct action and inspired activism? And how can we bring together diverse groups and organizations working for change, creating new collaborative networks that improve our communities.

A week before the first Evolver Spore, we will assemble and post links to a number of videos and essays from Reality Sandwich and other publications that discuss these ideas, which can be used as jumping off points for discussion at the gatherings.

By promoting and releasing Evolver Spores, we are not seeking to compel conformism or create some new belief system. Our goal is to facilitate a conversation around issues that the mainstream culture often ignores, that we consider important. We hope these discussions will quickly lead to meaningful activism. We offer the Evolver Spore model as a template that local communities can use, modify, or ignore, as they see fit.

We see value in getting our growing Evolver community to synergize its intentions, synchronize its efforts, and come together as one. We also welcome Regional Spores to invite likeminded organizations to speak on issues, co-create, pass out their informational materials, and join in the collective fun.

We Evolve Together

We are currently developing the Evolver Spore concept, and are very interested in your ideas, responses, and reactions. A forum will be set up on the Evolver Worldwide Group Page to discuss the event, as well as individual “Group” pages for local Evolver Spore chapters. If you have ideas for ways to develop the network, themes for future Spore meetings, or just want to kvetch at us, we look forward to hearing your feedback.

With love,
The Evolver team