If you haven’t read about Life First yet please click here
The truth is, real long-term sustainable change is going to take more than simply adding names to an online campaign, though signing the campaign is a very important first step and does serve to inspire and catalyse change in others. So, if you haven’t done so already please click here to sign the Life First campaign).
The ultimate objective of this movement is to create real, tangible changes in the way we go about our daily lives on this planet – changes that will help safeguard the continuation of life. This will only happen when individuals, organisations and community groups commit to truly realising this change – by walking the talk and putting Life-First into action.
Our main actions towards supporting this change…
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an online community area designed to support individuals and groups in putting Life First and integrating the Children’s Fire into their daily lives.
The buddygroups support platform, after more than two years of development, is now ready for us to host our online community. We have two types of Membership that will have access to this area: the Custodian and Guardianship Memberships. The suite is built upon the use of accountability groups (could be just you and a friend/mentor, a study group or the entire CFM community) to support behaviour change in the Self. Having knowledge and the right tools for the job is only part of the picture – when it comes to creating truly lasting change, human support and accountability is vital.
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training programmes
We will be delivering two training programmes: the one programme, which is initially an introductory online programme and the Community Council Learning Journey or CCLJ
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training programmes for learning groups called the Community Council Learning Journey (CCLJ)
This is an on location personal/community development training programme based upon the indigenous wisdom that informs the Children’s Fire Movement. As well as the earth wisdom aspect we also share contemporary techniques for self-mastery and will utilise the online software (mentioned above) in order to support participants between training days. It’s ideally suited to community groups that live in relatively close proximity to one another. However, this is not an absolute and we do welcome groups of people who are geographically distant from one another – just so long as they can commit to making each training day at the agreed location. Click here for more information.
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an online wisdom gathering / decision making tool
We are currently looking into the feasibility of designing an online decision making structure, based upon the Circle of Law, for the use of community groups and organisations. The Circle of Law was a balanced system of relationship that flourished in many indigenous cultures of the Americas. It underlies a truly democratic structure, known as the Council, that prioritises the continuation of Life and our future generations (btw, these structures were part of the initial inspiration of the constitution of the USA). Our aim is to bring it forward in as pragmatic and accessible form possible, that befits the 21st Century, whilst also maintaining the integrity of the underlying principles and processes.
It is important to note that there are already forward thinking structures emerging, such as the open-source Loomio.org platform, that enable more transparent and democratic wisdom gathering and decision making.
We’ll keep you updated regarding our progress.
However, because real change requires time and effort, to call for individuals to implement lifestyle change has been a publicity car crash for those endorsing it, which is why the issue is avoided whenever possible – especially by politicians. I would argue that such luxuries are no longer available to us and that it’s time we were direct and honest. The only way we are going to leave our children’s children with a viable life-sustaining future is if we all get involved in making it happen – individuals, businesses, organisations and governments alike.
Life First maybe a simple concept but, like any life-change or new behaviour, simple doesn’t always equate to being easy.
However, if you have the courage to live the Life First ethic and place our future generations first, before short-term gain (and profit), then you certainly won’t be going it alone.
How often have you pledged to do something differently in the New Year, often with all the will in the world, but have not been able to follow through.
| Make the Pledge |
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| What is the Pledge? |
| The Need to Pledge |
| How do I make the Pledge? |
What is the Pledge
To make the Pledge is to make a commitment to put Life First in every thought, word and action – it’s a commitment to Life and to our future generations.
Voicing your agreement with what the CFM stands for, and spreading the word about the movement’s existence are both important undertakings (see our ‘Life First‘ and ‘Share‘ pages). AND… the main objective of the movement is to create real, tangible changes in the way we go about our daily lives on this planet – changes that will help safeguard the continuation of life. This will only happen when individuals, organisations and community groups commit to truly realising this change – to putting Life-First into action and “walking the talk”!
So, what will your pledge look like?
Your pledge may be a simple statement such as “I pledge to integrate the principles of Life First into my daily life”, or it may be more detailed. The key thing is that your heart is in it – that you feel what you say. Once made, we can support you in following through on your pledge – you needn’t go it alone (see the ‘How do I make the Pledge’ section below).
The pace and depth to which we implement Life First is a choice that we all need to take individually – it’s a choice that affects the world we live in, moment by moment, for you, me, our children and our children’s children.
The Need to Pledge
There is an increasingly obvious need for a peaceful, democratic and life-honouring way forward that will provide a brighter legacy for our future generations.
More and more people are waking up to the fact that we live in a time where so often the needs of the many are outweighed by the short-term benefits of the few. And in order to maintain the inequality of this model, we have become dependant on a system that is fragile, unstable and destroying the very environment that we are a part of.
Read this article which goes into a little more depth about the need to pledge.
How do I make the Pledge?
On one level, making the Pledge is as simple as completing a field in your Supporter’s Profile! It’s also a deep commitment to Life, and to yourself.
To make the pledge on our website you need to register as a CFM Supporter, which is easy, and simply complete the pledge field in your profile. Click here to register as a Supporter now.
You can also make the pledge to put life first on the causes.com website which no longer requires you to be a Facebook user to take part.
Making the Pledge is going to be a unique experience for everyone – we all have our preferred methods of learning and we’ve all been shaped by a rich diversity of life experiences. One thing is for sure, if you make the pledge you won’t be doing so alone (if you choose), as the people of this movement will be with you all the way. There are also many guides and organisations world-wide who have been trained to support individuals, groups, communities and businesses in integrating the principles and structures which lie at the heart of the Children’s Fire Movement.
Click here for a world map showing all Supporters who are also trained Council Guides.
Or here for a table of trained Guides.
PLEASE NOTE that these resources are still in their early days (in line with the readiness of this website) and will feature many more guides when this site is ready to go live on a much larger scale. In the meantime please feel free to contact us and we will put you in touch with the appropriate people.
