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THE
EPIC OF EVOLUTION
Cosmic Resources for Educators
compiled by Ruth Rosenhek
1) Cosmogen - Active listserv with a group of approximately 100 Universe Story enthusiasts (writers, educators, cosmologists, various scientists...). who engage in discussions about the Epic as pertains to religion, science, linguistics, outreach and so on.
To subscribe to the Cosmogen listserv, send the command:
SUB COSMOGEN Firstname Lastname to <listserv@listserv.temple.edu>.
For an online archive of this discussion group, go to <http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/cosmogen.html>.
2) Biodiversity and Conservation - a hypertext book on that includes chapters on The History of Life, Extinction and Overexploitation and other information filled pages. http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.htm
3) The Great Story Website - Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd's Great Work cyber site, for those interested in sustainability, conservation biology, creation spirituality, evolutionary consciousness, the new cosmology, deep ecology, bioregionalism, or the marriage of science and religion for personal and planetary wellbeing. http://www.TheGreatStory.org
4) Deep Ecology Writings by international rainforest activist John Seed, Ruth Rosenhek and others - http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/welcome.htm
5) Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science summarizes the overwhelming observational evidence for evolution and suggests effective ways of teaching the subject for teachers, other educators, and policy makers who design, deliver, and oversee classroom instruction in biology.
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/evolution98/6) The Gaia Hypothesis Resource Page is a large collection of resources on the scientific issues related to the Gaia Hypothesis, from a variety of viewpoints. Includes selected writings by Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock, the scientists who proposed the Gaia Hypothesis. http://magna.com.au/~prfbrown/gaia
7) Matthew Fox's University of Creation Spirituality web site is organized, like their newsletter into the three organizing principles of the evolutionary universe described by today’s science: differentiation, communion, and autopoiesis. http://www.csnet.org/
8) Cosmic Voyage - In this online museum you can learn about the birth and evolution of our majestic, mysterious cosmos...and discover the many ways in which you are connected to it! Welcome to Cosmic Voyage! www.cosmicvoyage.org/
9) Cosmic Voyage - Take a brisk ride through the dimensions of the universe. The link below will take you to a web version of Charles Eames's classic short film, "Powers of Ten," which was "updated" (plagiarized) a few years ago in the IMAX film Cosmic Voyage. http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/
10) A Walk Through Time ... From Stardust to Us. Imagine taking a walk where every step transports you a million years in time! A Walk Through Time … from stardust to us takes you on just such a journey. In a series of 90 panels of text and illustrations, this innovative traveling exhibit tells the story of life's five-billion-year evolution. http://www.globalcommunity.org/wtt/
11) Universe Stories - Programs for children (K-12) and adults plus Books by Jennifer Morgan. http://www.UniverseStories.com/
VIDEOS - a comprehensive listing by Earth Communications : http://rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/niznik.htm
1) Deep Ecology Bibliography from the Institute for Deep Ecology - http://rainforestinfo.org.au/biblio.htm
2) NEW - A wonderful new children's book about the Universe Story has just been published: The Everything Seed by Carole Martignacco, $17.95. It can be ordered by calling 1-800-752-3303 or contacting http://www.BookHouseFulfillment.com
4) Jennifer Morgan and Dana Lynne Andersen's Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story won the Teachers Choice Award for 2003. Order Jennifer's book
6) Some Favorites - PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR FAVORITES HERE
* Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry - The Universe Story
* Brian Swimme - Study Guide to the Canticle of the Cosmos
* Elisabet Sahtouris - Earth Dance: Living Systems in Evolution - Rat Haus Reality Press, Santa Cruz, CA 1996 -- An enjoyable read, Elisabet provides the layperson with a doorway to enter the magic of the beginnings of life on this planet. This book originally entitled "Gaia - The Human Journey from Chaos to Cosmos" is one of the best argued books that helped move Gaia from hypothesis to theory.
As Elisabet herself says in the preface:
"Putting into simple words the specialized technical language of scientists and winding my way through labyrinths of philosophical prose, I gradually simplified the story of the origins and naturs of our planet within the larger cosmos, and of our human origins, nature, and history within the larger being of this planet."
See also Elisabet’s website which contains the text of the book at: website: http://www.ratical.org/lifeweb
* Sidney Liebes, Elisabet Sahtouris, & Brian Swimme - A Walk Through Time: From Stardust to Us - The Evolution of Life on Earth (order through Foundation for Global Community at www.globalcommunity.org/wtt ) This book contains the original text and illustrations of the acclaimed "Walk Through Time" exhibition, on tour around the world. Tells the story of life’s evolution via an illustrated one mile-long walk highlighting major developments.
You might also want to check out Elisabet and Willis Harman’s latest book, "Biology Revisioned" (N. Atlantic Books, Berkeley)
* Lynn Margulis & Dorian Sagan -- My two favorites are Slanted Truths, bursting at the seams with a compilation of essays on bacteria and What is Life which traces the beginnings of life to the accompaniment of great illustrated plates. (I still can’t believe I found this in a buck a book shop in Boston, Massachusetts!) For more about microbial life, see also Microcosmos.
See also: http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC34/Margulis.htm , http://www.bio.umass.edu/faculty/biog/margulis.html
* Connie Barlow, Green Space Green Time: The Way of Science Copernicus (Springer-Verlag) Books, 1997.
* Timothy Ferris - The Whole Shebang
* Dressler - Voyage to the Great Attractor
Other Deep Ecology Readings
* John Seed, Joanna Macy, Arnae Ness, Pat Fleming - Thinking Like a Mountain
* Joanna Macy - Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age
* Joanna Macy & Molly Young Brown - Coming Back to Life : Practices to Reconnect our Lives, Our World - with a foreword by Matthew Fox, New Society Publishers, P.O. Bx 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada Copyright 1998. Processes to help us to play our role in "The Great Turning". As Macy says, "This is a guidebook. It maps ways into the vitality and determination we each possess to take part in the healing of our world."
GROUPS1) Cultivating Connections - Experiential workshops and presentations which invoke a deeper awareness of what it means to be alive in the Cosmos.Wondernet@aol.com 318 Primrose Drive, Louisville, Ky 40207; (502) 897-2721
2) Foundation for Global Community - Check out their 7 minute "By Wonder Are We Saved" video and "One" video (10 minutes) "designed to inspire . . . a profound sense of interdependence and interconnectedness to all life" http://www.globalcommunity.org/ 222 High Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301, (650) 328-7756
3) Genesis Farm - learning center for Earth studies located in northwest New Jersey. Sr. Miriam Therese MacGillis. OP, is the founder/director. It welcomes all people of good will in the search for alternative ways to achieve true human and ecological well-being. One major activity at Genesis Farm is its accredited gradutate Earth Literacy program. May 2005 – May 2006 will be focused on commenorating the 25th year anniversary. http://www.genesisfarm.org
4) Institute on Religion in an Age of Science - non-denominational, independent society working for a dynamic and positive relationship between religion and science. www.iras.org
CREATIVE EXPRESSION - Songs & Poetry
1) The Revised History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less by Eric Schulman. This is translated in twenty languages now! http://members.verizon.net/~vze3fs8i/hist/hist.html
2) Drew King Dellinger of the Center of the Universe - Promoting Justice and Cosmology through Education and Arts (rap, speeches and presentations) - PO Box 11347, Prescott, AZ 86304 - (520) 44506186 - Drew@soulforce.com http://www.soulforce.com/
Drew and his colleagues Stephan Snider and Omar Zinn have some great Universe and Earth rap songs including The Universe Jam and Word to the Mother.
3) Expanding Universe - by Eric Idle (Monty Python) with last verse modified by John Seed. Eric Idle version here
4) At Night They Howl at the Moon - Live children's concert featuring Dana Lyons and John Seed with songs about the Earth and the Beings who live here. Includes Expanding Universe. To order, please send a US$12 check made out to Rainforest Information Centre to:
John Parrish, 9009 Fairview Rd., Silver Spring, MD 209105) The Canticle to the Cosmos and Earth's Imagination - In these video series, Brian Swimme explores our emerging understanding of the human mind within the context of evolutionary dynamics and principles of the Universe. To order, call 1-880-273-3720.
5) Robinson Jeffers and William Everson (Brother Antoninus) - The works of two great poets of cosmology.
6) The Silicon Atom, poem by Elisabet Sahtouris
7) "The Earth Calendar™", an innovative civil calendar based on universal, progressive, Earth-based themes. See http://www.earthcalendar.org/ or write to info@earthcalendar.org to order a calendar. Snail mail address is Via Fonte Regina, 23, 64100 - Teramo - Italy
8) Foundation for Global Community videos (See Groups above).
9) NASA and Hubble slides, video programs and more: NASA C.O.R.E., (216) 774-1051 Lorain Cty Joint Vocational School, 15181 Route 58 South, Oberlin, OH 44074
10) Powers of Ten: A Film Dealing with the Relative Size of Things in the Universe, and the Effect of Adding Another Zero (9 and 1/2 minutes) was originally released in the late 70's. It is a grand example of the genius of its creators' Charles and Ray Eames and a timeless tool for communicating both the scope of, and our place in, the universe. In the course of the film you travel from the scene of a picnic off lake Michigan to the edge of the universe and back. The journey back takes us even further exploring the atoms in a man's hand.
Powers of Ten can be obtained on video tape as part of the collection The Films of Charles and Ray Eames Vol. 1 (which also includes a short feature on the creators and the original Rough Sketch for a Proposed Film Dealing with the Powers of Ten and the Realitive Size of Things in the Universe ). The video retails for $39.95 and can be obtained by W.H. Freeman and Company at (800) 877-5351 or www.whfreeman.com. 16mm versions are available from Pyramid Films P.O. Box 1048, Santa Monica, CA.
In addition two books based on the film are also available and highly reccommended. They are:
Powers of Ten: About the Relative Size of Things by Philip Morrison and Phylis Morrison and the Office of Charles and Ray Eames (Scientific American Library ISBN # 0-7167-6008-8 softcover $19.95) This book vastly extends the depth of the short film by complimenting the film's awesome images with extensive scientific details and background material.
Powers of Ten: A Flipbook based on the film by Charles and Ray Eames (W.H. Freeman ISBN #0-7167-3441-9 softcover $9.95) This small book is a simple and fun printed version of the short film. It is designed to be flipped through in a manner that creates an animated effect. This is a great format for this material!
Both books can be ordered by your local bookstore or may be obtained via http://ww.Amazon.com/.
The Eames Office maintains a website at www.eamesoffice.com which has information on all these resources as a Powers of Ten Exhibition and Powers of Ten- Interactive (a CD-ROM).
1) The Cosmic Walk - Sister Miriam Therese McGillis with text adapted by Ruth Rosenhek. Instructions and text at http://rainforestinfo.org/audeep-eco/cosmic.htm. See also http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/uu/evolutionstory.html for an adaptation, by Neal McBurnett, Rev. Jacqueline Ziegler, John Russell and Bob Davis. See also http://thegreatstory.org/ as well as the Universal History Translation Project, Paulita Bernuy and Still Point Retreat Center
2) Deep Evolution, a journey back in time was developed by Fred Allendorf for use in his Ecology & Buddhism class at the University of Montana. See http://rainforestinfo.org.au/deepevol.htm
3) The Evolutionary Hand Journey - You can find instructions for this at http://rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/cabmill.htm or in Joanna Macy’s book "Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age." It is called The Cradling in Joanna’s book. You might also want to check out John Seed and Pat Fleming’s Evolutionary Remembering found in Thinking Like a Mountain, particularly the part that includes movement for full embodiment of organic life through evolution. (To order, please send a US$12 check made out to Rainforest Information Centre to: John Parrish, 9009 Fairview Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20910
4) The Thousand Yard Model or, The Earth as a Peppercorn - Guy Ottewell's exercise for visualizing just how BIG our Solar System really is. Both the relative size and spacing of the planets are demonstrated in this outdoor exercise, using a mere peppercorn to represent the size of the Earth.
See http://www.noao.edu/education/peppercorn/pcmain.html5) The Search for the Beloved by Jean Houston - I haven’t seen this but one chapter was described as "an 'ABC' on ritual...that fitted beautifully with the Story..
6) Hidden Heart of the Universe - Experiential exercises suggested by Brian Swimme (found in his book of that same name) to bond with the sun and with our galaxy.
7) Geological Grounding Meditation - Richard Ely takes us through a true journey to the center of the Earth. Text available at http://rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/ely.htm
8) The Timeline of Light Workshop - Ruth Rosenhek and John Seed bring together deep ecology and the Epic of Evolution through multi media presentations, rituals and celebration. See http://rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/timeline.htm
9) The Council of All Beings - The Council of All Beings is a series of re-Earthing rituals created by John Seed and Joanna Macy to help end the sense of alienation from the living Earth that most of us feel, and to connect us with new sources of joy, commitment and inspiration that follow from union with Gaia. See http://rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/council.htm
10) Universe Dramatic Readings and Meditation - http//communities.msn.com/alohareha
11) Universe Story Necklace/Prayer Beads by Paula Hendrickhttp://www.ecovillage510.org/paulaspage.html
1) The Dream of the Earth Program - Brian Swimme and Larry Edwards are starting a new program (June, 2003), which will consist of a series of multimodal internet courses and a short summer get-together. http://www.threeeyesofuniverse.org/Public/CenterStoryUniverseProgram/
2) Santa Fe Humane Society has implemented a pilot curriculum for 4th and 5th grade public schools, based on the Council of All Beings. This has so far been very successful. Contact Kate at humane@timewindow.com
3) Mother Earth's Workshop is a small democratic grade school in Kansas City that uses the Council of All Beings to promote empathy for animals and environmental awareness to a multi age group, K-6. Contact Regina at commu@cctr.umkc.edu.
4) Symbala is a program created to help further the work of the Great Turning, the desire for an ecological age. It can be used as a leader's guide for group activity, or personal self-transformation. Originally developed under a grant from the Unitarian Sunday School Association, Symbala can be used in any religious or secular education context where re-connection with the Earth in its sacredness and universal process dynamics is a desire. For youth and adults. Contact Roger at daisies@chebucto.ns.ca.
5) Timeline of Light by John Fowler. In a dramatic mural (artist Tim Hogan), a visual poem depicts the evolution of the Earth and the Universe by offering a holistic vision stretching from the origin and evolution of the universe through the cambrian explosion some 570 million years ago. A great teaching aid to accompany the telling of the Story.
Fowler goes on to say, "It was originally designed as an educational material but I now see it as a point of departure for exploration into out planetary connectedness. Teilhard de Chardin said the we "are evolution made conscious of itself ." This is one expression of that consciousness." Contact John at Jfowr@aol.com.
6) Children's "Cosmic Curriculum" Happy Birthday Universe by Kim Farmer (931) 243-4170 4400 Sycamore Hollow, Celina, TN 38551
7) The Arborvitae Centre www.arborvitae.org...click on Cosmic Camp for Kids based on the Happy Birthday Universe Theme
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