Preface

This book (story, journey, cycle, learning) is many things. It is a co-created, emergent expression of a group of individuals. It is the call of a new Being. It is the story of Samara's gestation. It is the trail of breadcrumbs. It is the initial coding of how She works and where She is moving to. Most importantly it is a window into why She is here and what She is here to do. 

As with all wholesome efforts, this form is the result of a mixture. A mixture of people and higher principles. A mixture of ideas, connections and something un-nameable, but essential.

Stand with us at the beginning of this Journey. Look out towards a massive, wide open field. It's a field of possibility, but see it like grassland. This beginning, right now, is one of wide-open gratitude. Standing side-by-side, we look together to the Horizon of the unbounded regenerative force.

The mountain range just below that horizon is the movement of movements that is the Regenerative Renaissance. These mountains move quickly for mountains, for Gaia has need. This is the nature of the ground we walk upon, and we are grateful for its dynamism. Seeds grow on these slopes. People and DHO's are growing on these slopes. The life of that soil moves through each of us, driven by the yearning to see a more equitable, balanced, evolved and thriving world. Thanks to life for this movement!

The flow of life moves through this part of an ongoing symphony. The virtuouso violin, viola, cello and piccolo of many mentors have woven threads that tie the melody together: Joachim, Rieki, Paulo, Sanjay, Joost, Anneloes and Keala. Work out amongst yourselves which instrument above is yours... or just forget about it and keep going! The world needs your song and harmony! May you continue to refine and spread your wisdom and experience in a way that endlessly regenerates your purpose.

Each and every player deserves the joy they feel when the audience reverberates. This helps us see which parts of the song are worth rehearsing, repeating and evolving further. This new band is made up of an eclectic mix of travelling players that would enliven any song. Thank you, Drigo, Roz and Irina; you called the band together and started rehearsals, as well as putting the sign above the door.

Thank you to Tyler who rolled in the grounded, structured beat of the Taiko that keeps us on track, no matter how the melody shifts. Thank you, Sorin, for your good humour, tech/blockchain expertise, and apparent omnipresence on Discord, Sven for your groundedness and ability to foresee problems before they become problems, Jared for your clarity and your frontline, on-the-ground (literally) wealth of knowledge, Justin for your beautiful wisdom, ability to create space and spaciousness, and awesome shamanic superpowers, Alan for your enthusiasm, positivity, and directness, Fabi for your luminous presence and real-world practicality, Bongani for your radiant spirituality, your willingness to be vulnerable (which gives the rest of us permission to do likewise), and occasional outbursts of African-ness (!), Trent for your at-home-ness in the world, your ability to create safe space, and your playfulness, Dmitriy for your commitment and drive, your mature mindfulness, and for serenading us with the didgeridoo in the middle of the New Zealand night. Thank you also to all the other beautiful souls who have heard and heeded the call of Samara. 

No musician would learn to play well without the schools, colleges and conservatoires they learn in. They would have nothing to play without the deft hands of the instrument makers, who craft these tools in solitude and in tandem. We thank the groundwork and dedication of the builders in Hypha and the school of SEEDS, for fostering our sessions and providing us a Home. We recognize* and honour your careful hands in all we have touched and lovingly made music with. We also thank our allies and predecessors on an adjacent campus: the Ambassadors Academy and their home the Movement Building Circle (MBC) wing. Many in Samara have enjoyed playfully benefitting from classes and receiving the insights of the Angels who guide this evolving container of learning. We learn from seeing and being part of the larger purpose that MBC has been focusing on for some time.

[*You may notice that this book is inconsistent in its use of American English and British English spellings. We noticed this too, but consciously decided to leave this as it is, as a reminder and an honouring (!) of our international diversity, and our preference for "both/and" rather than "either/or". Two spelling systems in partnership, rather than the domination of one over the other.]

We are grateful to Samara Herself. Her Yin soul (maybe a soul as old as the hills - who knows?) is what we sense into and gain nourishment and support from. Her Yang body, though just a baby, is growing quickly. We dedicate our efforts each day to the distinct regenerative force that evolves and animates it. As individuals with identities, perceived needs, names and forms we are grateful for what meets the needs of this trans-personal body and being, and to the family it lives within.

The shifting of form is always a challenge and a learning for the individual, so ultimately we thank the lessons which help us accept changes when they come. We thank the emerging principles which help us mature enough. Mature enough to relinquish a form when Samara needs us to. Mature enough to uphold a structure or boundary when Samara needs us to. Most of all we are grateful for the integrity of the people here, which makes all of this work. 

We hope that like all good stories, this one captures you enough that the words fall away, the characters disappear and you find it speaking to you. Pick up the threads that have meaning to you when you look out towards the landscape: organizations, DHO's, Movements and the Regenerative Renaissance.

May this story live on in you. May it birth more of the quiet dreams of the soil of the Regenerative Renaissance into something Real. Let it reach You, and specifically the Human in You that is the same in us both, and which rises to the call of "Onward Team Human"!

With Love,

Samara and Her First Authors