KarlFrederick's Page

Hometown:

Sebastopol, CA

Relationship Status:

Single

About Me:

Let's make a bargain . . .
I will forget my name . .
you . . yours.
We will ask God to tell us who we are.

Favorite Books:

My "desert island" book for a long time was Jane Roberts' "The Nature of Personal Reality."

A favorite on relationship is Jett Psaris' and Marlena Lyons' "Undefended Love."

Favorite TV Shows:

Turned the TV off in 1999. Used to enjoy the Star Trek spin-offs.

What do you do to make a living?

I represent The Conference Board (www.conference-board.org) to small and mid-market companies in the Midwest and Western states. The Board is a 91-year-old non-profit business membership organization that helps its members improve their profitability and their corporate citizenship practices by providing best practice information through conferences, research publications, and councils where senior executives can learn from each other.

For most of my professional life, though, I've been an Engineering Manager and Program Manager, developing communications systems.

What kind of hobbies do you have?

Writing -- poetry, dialogue, very short stories.
Drawing -- my most frequent palette is the computer screen.
Music -- minimal keyboard skills don't prevent my enjoyment!
Growing a few culinary herbs in the back yard.
Occasional furniture refinishing.

In a world where you were pursuing your deepest, most heartfelt callings, what would you be doing?

I think we're all doing it all the time, regardless of whether we know it.

What is the most important thing you have learned in your life?

To hold lightly, everything I think I've learned.

Describe a belief that you previously held and then subsequently changed. What caused you to change your mind?

I used to think I was right all the time. In 1987 Brugh Joy showed me that my opinions were just that . . . my opinions.

Who do you admire most in the world (past and/or present) and why?

Those who have done the most to make my life possible, and who have helped me shape it. My parents and grandparents for the gift or life. My ex, for the gift of companionship and parenthood. My children, for loving and daring to try to teach me. Kay Ortmans, Brugh Joy, Carolyn Conger, and Angeles Arrien, for their care, encouragement and wisdom. And all for their love.

At this turbulent moment in history, what do you think is the most important thing a person can do to help humankind (and the rest of the planet) survive the many dangers that confront us?

Un-learning the concepts of "other" and "away." Allowing the personal connection with the entire world.

What are your answers to the big questions: Who are we? Where are we from? Why are we here? Where are we headed?

Not to trivialize the questions, but they no longer resonate with me as being important, and my answers may seem correspondingly irrelevant!
We are we.
We are not "from" anywhere. "Here" is where we are.
We are here because we are. How could we be elsewhere?
We are headed smack dab into the present.

Why did you decide to join this community?

To explore in community who and what we are.