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NameEmailJewel #1Jewel #2Jewel #3Jewel #4Link to video harvestReflections on the Deep Dive processWhat was the venue for this conversation?When was this conversation?Brief description of your conversation groupWhat kind of conversation was this?Link to notes or a written storyOther reflections about this conversation?
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Ben RobertsStart with the integrity of the processes you use and the people you choose to gather and work with--allow the external outcomes and impact to flow from there, and trust that whatever they are, regardless of scale or "transformational power," what emerges will be of service. https://youtu.be/JIgTLQrbS84It was SO lovely to get this Deep Dive started with Inger-Mette and her SoL pals!
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Inger-Mette Stensethim.stenseth@gmail.comA gift to start this Deep Dive on 1 JUNE with weaving a collaborative virtual structure with the SOL Europe conference in Budapest, and to reflect on "deep dive" with this very dedicated community of people. Love and relationship in our close to 20 years of being together as a learning community and how we accelerate learning as "ordinary people" def. by Alain de Vulpain. we are a compassionate community in action. To serve local communities with skills and of system thinking, and the tools of being local learning communities. We speed up learning by visiting different regions, going slow and joyful in Regional Learning Journeys across organizations and companies. To stay fully human , I thrive as a human being when being and chilling in nature, to be together with people who share their time and deep wisdom. To live the deep ecology of life. Deep learning is the key word. https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/breakdown-breakthrough-confronting-collapse-on-the-path-of-regeneration-fbd0dfda3cc4
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Catherine GrossMonarchproduction @msn.comDo not press with your thought the thing you want, but on the...causation of it, which is the love you feel for it, and how much you are enjoying it. Than you tune right into the ...heart of the thing you want, and it comes to you.Prayer/Meditation; I radiate Devine Love, I radiate Devine Love, to every person and every thing; to animal life, to vegetable life; and to mineral life; to all the world I radiate Devine love to all four corners of the world.
“Where ever you are, and who ever you are, if in anyway I can help or serve you, I joyously and lavishly give to you.”
Now, bring yourself back to the Power that lies within, always remembering the ebb and flow of life and say back to yourself “I can of myself do nothing, it is in the divinity of unity we shall overcome and bring Devine light back to the world.A community shall only grow when the natural order of nature and environment walk hand in hand.Thank you for a forum for collaboration of peace and harmony with actions to come to bring from unconscious to conscious.
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comSpeak truth to power with kindness and respect. Do not seek to compete, or to persuade. Show up like you have nothing to lose, and do not be attached to outcomes.Embody "fierce compassion"It's more important to be effective than to be seen as "right." Watch out for showing up with self-righteous energy--a special "gift" of those on the Left!When, if ever, do we simply need to fight back and physically or metaphorically "punch our enemy in the nose" (or kill them).https://youtu.be/5cBu7CNDcjQ"Privately convened" Zoom call6/4/2019A group of five people who are all experienced process hosts/facilitatorsA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep DiveThis was a wonderful "excuse" for getting together with old friends, and making some new connections among them. And it was catalyzed by someone who wasn't even able to make it!
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MariaWhen you think you know better is the beginning of the endWe (western people) have access to resources they do not and they (indigenous people) have access to wisdom and relationships we do not. We need to bring both together and share.Safe spaces (that keep us in our power - able to use our talents and to learn) and brave spaces (where we speak our truth).By moving you open up (learning journeys - in a journey you are inevitably moving your body and your mind have to move, your context moves ... everything moves, that is why we need journeys).When we find ourselves in the middle of conversations or comments in which people might be talking talk about what they do not know - and remember we can be the ones doing it - (like e.g. people talking about the issues that immigration brings without ever having sat or spoken to an immigrant) what question is the one we will pose? (links to brave spaces above)."Open" Zoom Call scheduled as part of the Deep Dive6/7/2019A small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep DiveMmm ... it seems that inviting everyone to share the talking time might not be enough ... what can we introduce that makes it happen and see if and how the conversation changes?
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comThis poem, which we read at the end of our conversation, captures the heart of our shared thinking for me:

“If allowed to, grief doesn’t just break the heart,
but breaks it open,
ultimately breaking us open to unbroken Being."
"Huge heartache, huge hurt, huge opening —
carrying us through the deepest sorrow
into a spaciousness as naturally compassionate
as it is vast.
In such spaciousness,
such exquisitely raw openness,
there is, eventually, room for all.”

~ Robert Augustus Masters
We did a guided meditation together that took us into a deep place from which a typical conversation seemed like a step back into more "trivial" head-based realms. Our "best thinking" is what got us in this mess as a species. What kinds of conversation can transcend that? Words and ideas ARE powerful, and they can also be a trap.The Dave Matthews song "Lie in Our Graves" kept running through my head during the call: https://youtu.be/-H5H07NjiUE

Would you not like to be sitting on top of the world with your legs hanging free? Would you not like to be OK, OK, OK?"
"Open" Zoom Call scheduled as part of the Deep Dive6/11/2019We aligned on our the idea of ki or chi--life energy-- as a connecting force that can ground our work, with shared history relating to aikido as well as various kinds of alternative healing methodsA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep DiveHere's a screenshot of our group: http://bit.ly/2WygAIK
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Barbara HammondsThe significance of language in constructing our realities and how this is both a challenge and a gift as we seek to connect across cultures and languagesA question: How can we incorporate the subtle and not so subtle differences between languages and cultures while still using English as a common languageI felt inspired to follow through on an earlier commitment to learn Te Reo, the language of Aotearoa’s indigenous people. How else can I really appreciate how language constructs our realities (let alone begin to understand the Maori world)"Privately convened" Zoom call6/14/2019Calling questions plus Introduction to the Sedona methodA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comHave a good strategy, and clarity around a theory of changeDon’t think too much about it. Show up, do my work, go to lots of movies.Let go of the story that it is all is going to work out, or that it won’t. What are the actions I might take now that allow me to fully offer my gifts in service to what is needed in response to either possibility?In-person small group conversation6/12/2019Three of us talked while gathered around a campfire at the Food Solutions New England retreat--here is the essence of what each of us said about "how we survive..."A small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comWhere and how do we find/create coherence? In group engagements, lead with an embodied practice before moving into thought and conversation. Breathe together to create flow. Use music to open hearts and build a field of connection.What can we do here and now, with the people “next to us?” These might be our physical neighbors, or members of groups to which we feel a sense of belonging and a call to stewardship.Is pain an opening? [YES!!!] How do we create space for pain? For example, how do we come to terms with our colonial histories? Can we celebrate the beauty of a Spanish cathedral that laid the foundations of genocide? And what can we say about our use of facades to hide our pain? Playing with “islands” as a metaphor… Name islands of privilege and power. Co-create islands of sanity. Reject the desire to be on an island. A true story: if Collapse comes, billionaires are planning to flee to their private islands. But they know their money will no longer have value, and so they are seeking advice about how to will keep their guards loyal, while apparently forgetting that the hurricanes and rising seas will render that question moot."Privately convened" Zoom call6/11/2019I gathered with Maria, Jose Maria, and Leonie—this was a group that emerged from synchronicities related to the Society for Organizational Learning and the work of Otto ScharmerA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comWhat does “applied spirituality” look like? How are we finding ways to reclaim the notion of sacredness as part of everyday reality, as solid and practical as a table and chairs?When is it valuable to work within a tribe, and when do those boundaries need to be broken through? Jews in the US are an elite group—collectively among the most highly educated people on the planet. If the next evolution of Judaism is to embody tikkun olam—the sacred duty to heal the wounds of humanity-- does it need to go beyond that cohort? Could a new Judaism become as relevant in the Global South as the Catholic Church?!

And what about the tribe within the larger Jewish community that is actively and consciously bringing forth the Third Era? To what extent does it require “safe spaces” in which to develop? Can something as transformational as a new era emerge from a place of separation from the whole, or does it need to manifest throughout the entire ecosystem of people who seek to live “Jewishly?”
Link to video harvest coming soon!"Privately convened" Zoom call6/11/2019Estee, Dan, Greg, Wendie, and Ben gather around the context of the Judaism Unbound podcast, which explores the ways that religion is evolving into a new (third) era—a concept that has many connections with other stories of a paradigm shift, conscious evolution, the Great Turning, etc.A small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep DiveCheck out the Judaism Unbound podcast! https://www.judaismunbound.com/
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rob de laetrobdelaet@yahoo.comBen's notion of Joanna Macy mentioning the three type of actions for the transformation (I paraphrase): 1. holding actions, stopping more damage, 2. building the new structures of Gaia, 3. letting the new consciousness emerge. A quote from Charles Eisenstein, which Joy Foley sent in an email. He got it from indigenous people if I am not mistaken.
To be the change, we need to see:
Every act as a ceremony
Every word as a prayer
Every walk as a pilgrimage
Every place as a shrine.
The idea that came back in this conversation is that crucial to the transition is to find a non-violent dialogue, where we connect rather than confront. We need to find this natural method of creating trust, unity while honoring diversity. "Open" Zoom Call scheduled as part of the Deep Dive6/20/2019We were together to study the occurrence of synchronicity. The first question was: how do we survive, stay in integrity and even thrive in the context of mainstream insanity. A small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comEvery act is a ceremony
Every word is a prayer
Every walk is a pilgrimage
Every place is a shrine

~Charles Eisenstein
Being in shock involves being disconnected from our awareness body. It serves a valuable function at times, e.g. when I broke my arm really badly in eight grade. In transformational work we talk all the time about being awake, and about the value of feeling our grief, sadness, anger, etc. And... Might there be times when it is actually helpful for us to consciously choose to be "in shock?"There is a special kind of pain and challenge that comes from knowing that there are amazing ways to do things differently yet these are not being recognized or valued.We live in places and spaces that are suffused with "subtle violence." The violence of language, of schedules and agendas, of expectations, of busy-ness and futile efforts to do way more than we can reasonably attempt, etc. Kindness--towards others and ourselves-- is a key part of a more fully human response to this reality.https://youtu.be/oDq8m9PoSOg"Open" Zoom Call scheduled as part of the Deep Dive6/20/2019We played off the notion that "everyone's in shock," which turned out to be a concept with synchronistic connections across our group.A small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep DiveThere was a general sense in our small group of comfort and warmth--we created a little "island of sanity" together that was just delicious.
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Stephanie Minestara-approach@prodigy.netTHE NEW INDIGENEITY

The way that humanity rises in the face of climate crisis is through the evolution of a new indigeneity that is without tribal affiliation or ethnicity, though it incorporates and respects these. This new indigeneity is ignited by a global sense of place and unity that arises from an indestructible, unbreakable and passionate bond with Gaia. ~ Stephanie Mines

"Open" Zoom Call scheduled as part of the Deep Dive6/20/2019Exploring Indigeneity and its role in our climate emergency.A small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comNotes were complied as a kind of harvest in poetry form. See samples in following "jewels," and link to complete "notes."Being kind to ourselves
To carve out time
Amidst anxiety, fear, feeling harassed
Welcome these
Fear thoughts
Recognize the “call tone”
When that phone rings
Take the call when ready to welcome it
Goal setting
Release on every action so we are
Hoot-less
We laugh with joy
Hootless space = free
We can only do, find our being in the place of doingness when it is for the benefit of everyone.
Marianne Williamson - hootless
Knows she’s right, but not trying to persuade
Activism has wanting and not wanting in it
People might not want to hear this
Let’s clear out first, then see
Fluid - beautiful word/ state
Fluid space
Seems in conflict with perception of activism
"Privately convened" Zoom call6/11/2019Shulamith Strauss led our group through an experience of the Sedona method, which was powerful medicine for addressing the self-care aspect of the Consciousness Deep Dive, e.g. the challenges of surviving and thriving in the face of "mainstream insanity."A call using the "Sedona Method" to process attachment to feelings.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lm4prIwcrlnWrkQlVPeZuWTmO4lYterTovJ53tSIMcM/editGratitude to Shulamith for this offering, and to Sarah for the poetry/notes
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Stephanie Minestara-approach@prodigy.netWe Are All Indigenous

Tiny cottonwood florets, like miniscule powder puffs,
Drift across the Oxbow sky.
I hear the arrivals and departures of the birds
As someone who will not be here long.
My grandpa looked for what was discarded in the streets of the Bronx:
Shiny metal pieces, paper clips, shards;
Anything usable.
He was a tailor by trade,
Living in a world of industrialized suits;
And I was his shadow in a treeless forest.
Now, older than he lived,
I stand amidst ancient trees
In a place he could never know.
Yet these trees resemble him;
Long and lean with wiry strength.
“We are home,” the trees say,
Just as Grandpa did with his eyes.
An immigrant’s mind is always
On the alert for
Sustainability,
Even in a disaster zone.
An immigrant’s mind plants something in the earth
Whether it be seed or poem,
As Japanese interned in America’s
Prison camps, like my teacher Mary Iino,
Made gardens from sand.
This is what the Caddy’s did, with Dorothy MacLean,
In Scotland.
Migration is an act of indigeneity;
An instinctual bond with the land and the air.
Movement across continents;
Stability like the flights of birds in formation.
My grandfather’s perfect, beautiful woolen hat
Lying on a sidewalk teeming with traffic
Where he fell;
His soul flying back to the village in Poland that became
A village in Russia; the land named by the occupiers
Who had lost track of the truth he carried in his bones.
He knew where he was from and it had no name.
The new indigeneity is in our discovery of
Our unbreakable bond with Gaia;
Unifying, borderless, ageless, non-violent,
It is the roadmap of response, the
Rising up
From the roots;
The consciousness that finds the
Language that brings us back together
Where we belong.

Stephanie Mines/Oxbow/Oregon/2019
"Open" Zoom Call scheduled as part of the Deep Dive6/20/2019Exploring Indigeneity with Stephanie Mines, Spring Cheng, Frankie Lee Slater and Heather TischbeinA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comFrom Bert ola’s iPhone to Everyone: 03:00 PM
Don’t be TRANSACTIONAL 🙅🏻‍♀️ The top successful people never are. ⠀⠀ I’ve heard many personal development teachers say “first give, give, give, and then ask for favours.” I thought it was the right thing and I’ve done it, expecting that one day the person will appreciate my efforts and give back 👎 They never did and I kept feeling used and disappointed, until I realized it wasn’t them. It was me 😳 ⠀⠀ When you GIVE, give because you want to and because you can. Give without conditions. Don’t make people feel indebted. Pay it forward. Give from a place of abundance and care. “You owe me nothing.” 🙏🏻 ⠀⠀ The ironic part is that once you start practicing unconditional giving, people appreciate it more and they want to give back. . 📸 by Dan Taylor taken at the LAUNCHub Ventures and DigitalK retreat 💫
The Nordics in our group laughed when I told them they are idolized by many progressives here in the US. And they spoke of how Ghana is leading and teaching them. And is also suffering from their toxic exports, which are now filling their once gorgeous beaches with trash.It continues to be a major challenge to work for "the movements for systemic transformation" as a full-time gig, unless one has an inheritance or a side-hustle. THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE NOW!!!https://youtu.be/aHLdZqj2qCoWith this group, all of whom knew at least two or three of the other members, there was a strong sense that the conversation we really "needed" to have was going to require a bit more time to emerge. It will be interesting to look back in a few months and see if that happened or not."Privately convened" Zoom call6/24/2019A group connected to the Evolutionary Leadership Community: https://www.evoleadinstitute.com/connectA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comThere was confusion and disagreement around the idea of indigeneity as a valuable construct. Concerns included the possibility of cultural erasure, and the dangers of exploiting indigenous leaders rather than making space for them to lead. In the face of these concerns, it was hard to talk about the possible value of indigeneity as an inspiration and a teaching for those of us who feel rootless, and who have been so thoroughly colonized in our own ways of thinking and being.How does one reconcile the apparent need for us to operate within the mainstream context of markets, commodification, competition, and urgent timelines on the one hand, and the indigenous wisdom that time is circular, causation is non-linear and often mysterious, and that our Mother Earth and all life is sacred, on the other? What does it actually look if "the eagle and the condor fly together?" [See https://blog.pachamama.org/the-eagle-and-the-condor-prophecy ]While we typically have been recording a final set of harvest comments during these calls, it never felt quite right to do that in this instance. It was a very intimate space. And the very notion that a "record" was necessary to document and share what had been said seemed in the end like a rather amusing relic of colonized thinking! As if without that, the "value" of what had happened could not be realized. Or perhaps even that nothing had "happened" at all if "all we did was talk.""Open" Zoom Call scheduled as part of the Deep Dive6/24/2019A breakout during the call with Stephanie Mines, with Charles, Moshe, Philippe, and BenA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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charlie derrcharlie.derr@gmx.comWhile it wasn't necessarily a surprise, it was heartening to realize that everyone present agreed that climate change and the precarious condition of our natural ecosystems are only one manifestation of a much larger structural problem that also includes battles over immigration, gender inequality, capitalist exploitation (of both the labor class and natural resources), 'othering' of all sorts of different kinds and many other important issues of diversity and lack of equal opportunity.The depth of distress many of our group members felt over the situation at the US southern border was surprising and quite intense. It was pointed out that many of the folks seeking asylum are in fact climage refugees, and that their is no "classification" in any country in the world currently to deal with this (relatively new -- certainly at this scale) reality.Identification first and foremost as human beings (rather than one faction or another) is key to combating our natural drives to "other". We all seemed to be in agreement that the human tendency to separate into groups (and then to ally with some groups and oppose others) is a root cause of much that is wrong with our societies and our relationships with the natural world.Tapping into emotions (including truly experiencing distress!) is a better option than 'numbing' oneself in response to so much bad news.Our host and group leader wanted to divide up into 2 groups of 3, but i and another participant lobbied for staying together in one single group of 6, which i think worked out well as there were some of us there who didn't know some of the others prior to the meetup. I'm sure that splitting up would have also been productive, but the way we did it seemed to work out pretty well.In-person small group conversation6/23/20196 folks, all pushing the upper limits of "middle age". We were evenly divided gender-wise with 3 females and 3 males.A small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep DiveUnfortunately i took notes in longhand, not digitally.It was truly empowering to connect with these folks who share my conviction that we are all 'pieces of energy' inherently connected with each other. It gives me hope that we may succeed at creating sympathetic vibrations which might potentially change the course of the 7 billion plus humans riding on the planet (and the more that will follow us into the future).
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comSee link to written reflectionshttps://youtu.be/4jOps_KWTQEThis was a challenging conversation, with many people coming late and leaving early, as well as a wide range of perspectives and needs present. And yet it (at least for me) it was a valuable and clarifying engagement. As always with this Deep Dive, the building of relationships is probably the most important outcome, and it will be interesting to look back and see if the gathering of this group led to any collaborations."Privately convened" Zoom call6/25/2019A group of about eight people with an interest in, and representing several projects related to regenerative forestry, especially in the AmazonA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Divehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1rGKzDxZyBCX_FdMgnRhbLFFu3euAA80lR3JfZdWJzEc/edit#
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Marc Thibaultmarc@idealconvergence.comWe're moving, we might go circle at time, but we're moving, which is how energies get released and lead to creation. I am always concerned when we look at our common ecosystem as parts and us vs them, we can do better to be more inclusive and responsible for our shortcomings. Best example is how we've been framing and raising "climate change" related threats.We need to find ways of funding radical ideas that are not based on conventional metrics (ROI, exit strategies, short and long-term objectives). These ideas are not radical per say, they are very natural but tend to grow organically.Great, would love to participate again."Privately convened" Zoom call6/25/2019A group of about eight people with an interest in, and representing several projects related to regenerative forestry, especially in the AmazonA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Divehttps://www.idealconvergence.com/regeneration-regenerative-systems
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rob de laetrobdelaet@yahoo.com"Open" Zoom Call scheduled as part of the Deep Dive6/28/2019Ben Roberts described the transformation and the increasing connection beautifully as a mycelium that was spreading quietly, exchanging nourishment and information and more and more ready to get to the point of the sudden emergence of the mushrooms on locations everywhere about the ground where the mycelium has spread. The image was exactly how I felt we are all connecting and developing. Beautifully inspiring, thank you Ben and deep gratitude for your consistent effort of weaving the connections. Thank you!The last Deep Dive group gathering
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.com"If you want to change the culture, throw a better party!" A quote from Rick Ingrasci, co-convener of the Whidbey Winter Gathering and Hollyhock Summer Gathering. Here's a meme version: http://bit.ly/2YtTVPtOne of my favorite cartoons, making fun of the idea of the "invisible hand" of the so-called free market: http://bit.ly/2Yu1lSHKen Homer talked about some new science showing that there is a "feminine" set of amygdala responses that show up as alternatives to "fight, flight, or freeze." They involve compassion, empathy, and offering support to someone or something that is perceived to be making a threat. Makes SO MUCH sense!Link to wikipedia entry on "tend and befriend" thatKen Homer was referring to (see Jewel #3)These are a few items that came up in various conversations during the Deep DiveA small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Dive
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Ben Robertsben@conversationcollaborative.comAn extended email exchange took place after the session, which has been uploaded to this Google doc (with permission): http://bit.ly/2FQmijxIn-person small group conversation7/21/2019A gathering of six people at Ben's home near Great Barrington: Jennifer and Rosa who created the Southern Berkshire CCC Hub, two friends/colleagues of Jennifer's who were not part of the Hub's previous activities, plus Ben and his wife Kim.A small group conversation based on the calling questions for the Deep Divehttp://bit.ly/2FQmijxThis is a good example of how the Deep Dive process was used to energize a local network via an in-person meeting. Lots of potential for more sessons like this in future iterations.
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