Archive for the ‘ Must Watch ’ Category
The Zeitgeist Movement’s video wall is a great place to start if you’d like to learn about the movement.
If you’d like a quick explainer video the first one to start with is:
In consolidating the Zeitgeist Info site, the Resources page has been converted into a Video Wall and updated with a few new resources.
http://zeitgeist-info.com/video-wall/
If you are new to the movement then that page should be your first point of call for a great selection of videos.
Zeitgeist Movement chapters need to balance activity in at least 3 main areas, which include Activism, Learning and Relations. These activities can take the form of various types of projects and meetings, and ways in which to allocate time and resources.
Activism – Zeitgeist Movement chapters generally have two forms of activism, helping with the mindset change and physical activism/labour. The mindset activism is usually in the form of handing out DVDs, running film screenings, and town hall meetings. It is also one of the more important processes for gathering new members and affecting the culture and community around the chapter(s). The main mindset change happens when people understand the different values, definition of success and change in the defaults that we want to achieve. Many of the newer ZM members get annoyed at the lack of physical activism. As a movement we are only just starting to reach the point at which creating tangible change is an option. Some great examples would be converting existing people’s lawn area into gardens, creating eco-village style setups which run on renewable energy and are progressively automated to the point they are creating an abundance of produce. An important requirement for the price of zero transition.
Learning – Furthering our understanding of the ZM but also the world around us. From the latest in science, to the history of economics, to current news. It also covers research and analysis, particularly with regard to how to do things more efficiently and effectively or in other ways. Learning is divided into two main sections: personal learning and chapter learning. Personal learning is particularly focused on reaching an understanding of how the world works, the issues with the current system, and the solutions (the RBE). This is usually done through watching movies, being a part of a mailing list, reading articles, creating newsletters, and attending or giving presentations.
Relations – This is about internal chapter relationships and relations with other organisations. A very important motivator for continuous membership is the social aspect of being surrounded by other people who care about and understand them. This sense of community is fostered by holding social meetups, like BBQs, or casually meeting up at a bar. The relations between chapters and with other organisations are also very important. The potential for the Zeitgeist Movement to foster a transition to a Resource Based Economy is facilitated by creating strong ties with other RBE advocating groups and organisations such as Beyond Zero Emissions (in Australia).
A basic outline of the sub-points is below
Activism -> Mindset -> Physical
Learning -> Individual -> Chapter -> Global
Relations -> Chapter members
|-> Other RBE advocating groups
|-> Groups advocating similar ends
As an example, the table below lists of some projects being undertaken or planned in Australian ZM chapters. Some projects are listed twice as they have pronounced secondary effects, which are coloured in grey.
| Activism | Learning | Relations |
|
|
|
| Review and Admin | ||
|---|---|---|
On top of the three different buckets that need to be balanced is the almost constant review and admin work.
The regular review process could for example involve reading your posts, emails, and behaviour for the last week and allow you to both fix up mistakes and give you feedback regarding how to do thing better next time. A group review process should also be on the agenda of the next ZM meetup after an event (e.g Zday, ZMedia Festival).
The admin work involves general organisation work and maintenance. From maintaining mailing lists and websites to doing checks and balances, etc…
Have you come across any other good videos that should be shown? Let us know!
The 3rd Zeitgeist film is online!
This film has more truth in it than the average person can handle.
http://zeitgeistmovingforward.com/
Note : This film stands on its own. You don’t have to have seen the previous Zeitgeist films in order to watch this. In fact I highly recommend watching this first.
If you enjoyed this film then think about purchasing a copy of the DVD to support the director Peter Joseph, or joining the movement and changing the world.
Different circumstances will mean the resulting behaviour is influenced by the factors above in differing amounts. Whilst normally the situation and environment will be the most influential a strong enough culture and belief can over-ride that. If you want to change peoples behaviour you need to work out which are the most important factors involved or which other factors can over-ride those and you can try to change or at least deal with them.
An example is the selfish-gene concept. That humans are simply a mechanism by which genes can make a copy of themselves. Whilst this may be the default behaviour of people it is not the absolute only factor which affects our behaviour. Another important thing to note is that the concept of our ‘kin’ or family is very important in many cases. Who are people that we should help and be around, versus those that are against us. Our understanding of kin has grown larger over time, from immediate family to village, group (e.g religious group or work colleges) to nations and at the present rate will soon encompass the world. Doing so helps reduce the violence within our species. We will likely need to expand kin to include other animals and should we meet friendly alien entities it may have to include even them.
I do have a question. Are morals another factor which affect behaviour? Or are they a product of a combination of the above factors?
For a quick overview of social thinking, including the Stanford Prison Experiment, check out the video below :
If you enjoyed the above then some resources that may be of interest include :
More in depth resources :
Name : Human Behavioral Biology by Dr Robert Sapolsky.
There’s plenty of other resources. If would like like more please comment below or email michael@zeitgeist-info.com
NB : Added Habits above History. Because habits can be done without thinking they are more than just memory recall they almost like muscle memory.. if you could call it that. – 7th Jan 2012
Note : Knowing that there is a different way of doing something and changing peoples values and mindset is one of the most important but usually hardest steps when moving forward.
The information presented below is based on observations which I (Michael Kubler) have gathered over the last few years along with an understanding of the biology of human behaviour, psychology, motivation, and predictably irrational behaviour.
Note : By categorising different types of people it can be harder to see the subtle differences between the categories, however the knowledge below can hopefully help you understand why some people are more open to ideas than others.
People come in lots of different shapes, sizes, and types. Depending on their environment, their friends, family, experiences, genetics, and hormones they are also likely to exhibit different types of behaviour.
When I am trying to get to know someone there are a number of different types of categories you can think about which can help you tailor your concept or message to them.
