All Children are Our Children©

by David G. Blumenkrantz

It's been an amazing vibration here in CT.... I've had an outpouring of calls and e-mails. Plus, everywhere I go around town conversations occur. I live in a small New England town about the size of Newtown.... Feels like being close to the epicenter of an emotional earthquake.

Kasserian Ingera?

This is the traditional greeting passed between Masai, one of Africa’s most fabled and accomplished tribes. It means: And, how are the children? Are the children well?

The Children are not well. (more…)

Earth As Elder and its ally, Weather, as Initiators©

By David G. Blumenkrantz♥ & the ROPE® Community

What if these weather events are the Earth’s way of initiating humans? A curious possibility.

Earth is a living, sentient organism in an intimate interactive and interdependent relationship with all living species, including human beings - a truly symbiotic association. This is a constantly evolving and adapting ecosystem where Earth and its ally, weather, when needed, serve as an initiator of humans in order to transmit essential lessons necessary for whole planet survival. (more…)

Circle Sitting – Ideas & Unimaginable Efforts ©

I'm reminded of a story. In 1984 Wethersfield Connecticut was celebrating their 350th anniversary. At the time I was the Director of the town's Youth Service Bureau (YSB). To honor the event I had the "brilliant idea" of having students, who had been in ROPE®, break the world’s circle sit record. Notice I didn’t say, “try to break the world’s circle sit record.” The formulation of brilliant ideas rarely considers that they may not work or the energy, resources and effort necessary to “try them,” let alone have them succeed. (more…)

Shift Is Happening- 4 Arguments For The Initiation Of Youth

 M. Kalani Souza, outgoing IKE Hui Steersperson, officiates the appointment of new co-steerspersons Kesner Flores, Jean Tanimoto, David Blumenkrantz, M. Kalani Souza (left to right), Penny Larin, PRiMO and NOAA Pacific Services Center administrative support is in the foreground.

In the March blog I discussed our work with PRiMO - the Pacific Risk Management Ohana, which is a collaboration of local, national and regional agencies, institutions, organizations and academia. Over the past several years a growing number of federal agencies have begun to recognize the essential value of youth engagement and the role of rites of passage. At the March PRiMO meeting a major shift occurred. The Indigenous Knowledge and the Environment Hui (IKE Hui) chose "youth integration" through the youth and community development through rites of passage framework as its project for 2012-13. It was a great honor to be appointed "Co-steersperson" (chairman) of this distinguished group, along with Kesner Flores, Kapay Allaince and Jean Tanimoto, Pacific Services Center. (more…)

The Fish in All of Us

If we save the children we save the fish, the waters and the planet.

The only approach that makes sense to me is an ecological one. In this we see what our ancestors saw, “that all things are related.” Mitakuye Oyasin… all things are connected - Schema, the primary prayer in Judaism, we are one with God and all that there is.

In almost all traditional cultures there are similar concepts of “oneness” and the interrelatedness of all things. (more…)