"My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool;
it gives me all the world and exiles me from it."
Ursula K. Le Guin

From Friday evening through Sunday lunchtime, we gathered to share our ideas and our work, our passions, and our preposterousness, all with the underlying goal of building community. This was not a conference in a traditional sense -- with the exception of a star turn by our special guest head fomenter, Dr. David L. Miller, we spent most of our time in dialogue, rather than monologue (and those of you who know Miller know that he's way too entertaining to be considered a monologist!). We met to grab the reins as the next generation of fools to work these ideas and to build bridges and connections between each other and into our larger communities. With this in mind, we set out some "big ideas" to play with over the course of the weekend, including:

• What is myth and why should anybody care?
• What does a community of imaginers look like? What are our imaginings about how we can bring this thought out into the world?
• What are the mechanisms by which we are bringing our play to the world, and how can we support one another as we do so? (For example, there is a lot of interest in publishing -- some of us have published commercially, some academically, some self-published, and some of us are kicking tires about which is right for us. We'll share insights, ideas, and questions.)

Our goal was not, necessarily, to find answers at this gathering (whew, that's a relief!), but instead to challenge ourselves to analyze and open our thinking, and to begin to build relationships that will continue to strengthen each other.

Beyond that, our goal was not to prescribe the course of the conversations, but instead to provide a jumping off point for their beginnings as transparently as possible: this was a gathering by and for those who come to play.

Fools Fomenter: David L. Miller, Ph.D.

Watson-Ledden Professor of Religion, Emeritus, Syracuse University , former Pacifica Graduate Institute professor, and world-class sacred jester, will be our head fomenter of foolery, rallying all silly ones with a kick-off presentation to get us in the mood. Dr. Miller has delivered lectures, workshops, brilliance, and irreverence to learners and imaginers at events all over the world. If reading his articles gathered on this site has whetted your appetite, please check out his website for more information here.

Fools Vessel: The Ojai Retreat

The Fools gathered on the grounds of the Ojai Retreat, a comfortable and charming spot first created by the Theosophists in the Ojai Valley. It sits on a hill in the center of the valley with gorgeous views of the mountains around us. For more information, visit their website at www.ojairetreat.com. We served catered food from the Ojai Valley, and providing a wine and cheese revel Friday night, as well as breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night we left open so folks could gather as they wishedat any of the great eateries in Ojai.

All of this happened in what natives call "The Ojai," land of mountains, orange trees, artists, philosophers, hucksters, and our very own Butterfly Lady, who dons her wings most days and dances through the park.

Friday: 5 pm registration , 6 pm wine and cheese reception and revelry
Saturday: 8 am breakfast, sessions through catered lunch until 5 pm
Sunday: 8 am breakfast, sessions through catered lunch until 1 pm

Fools Frolics: What we did

For a complete schedule for the weekend, please click here.