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Poster: Steve Padilla
Caption: This is an interesting question that bears the challenge to we who believe that our lives have been predetermined by God.

Poster: Tracy
Caption: Yes...oh, yes! And so simply. I truly believe that we are creative beings. How do we have the power to make changes? By looking for what we want more of, pinpointing where it is already, and then paying attention to it, fanning it like a fire, to make it bigger.

Poster: Sarah
Caption: A path chosen for us by a Perfect God does seem to clash with a life of free will. It is this very juxtaposition that makes life so wonderful and horrifying. We each have control over many aspect of our lives and there are also many things which are totaly out of our control. The trick is, we often don´t know which is which. Learning what can be changed, what should be changed and how to move in a new dirrection seems to me to be one of the greates puzzles I´ll continue trying to solve my whole life.

Poster: Frank Cain
Caption: The answer is, of course, yes. But that would make this heaven on earth, wouldn't it? We are, however, quite earthbound. Still, after all these centuries, as individuals and societies, we are driven by the demands of the version of God we worship or the pursuit of money and power. I liken the issue to the fantasy series Star Trek where modern man travels with ease in deep space. The fact of the matter is that man, in his current physical form, will never survive travel into deep space even if he built the machine. To achieve the sort of change this world needs would require a matamorphosis or divine intervention.

Poster: Diane
Caption: absolutely! although in many situations it may appear to be impossible, as human beings we certainly DO have the capacity to make change. i believe we are meant to use our intelligence, creativity and compassion to make the world a better place for everyone. the opposite view is too depressing to even contemplate.

Poster: Lisa Wexler
Caption: Yes, I do believe that we have the power to change things. A lot of it has to do with intent - and recognizig that there is a need to make changes...using our intent to take action in our own lives and working for political and social change. We need to be conscious andnot run away from truths and difficulty because we want to protect ourselves. WE need to recognize that if we do not act, we will jeopardize what we have, and not be part of working out the issues and problems which face us today. Educating ourselves and each other, and being a part of the public discourse is essential. If we are to transform how things are now, we need to engage with each other, learn, listen, and create a new living animal/a new world which reflects all that we are struggling with and striving for.

Poster: Kurt
Caption: There has got to be an organic change in the structure of society. An organic change means that everything you see like it is now has got to be changed for the peace and contentment of the world. Everything you see: the way they're running the finances; the schools; the police department; foreign affairs--everything has got to go through an organic change to bring about this millennium of the oneness of mankind and the peace of the world. Racial, political--any kind of prejudice--is automatically out. Bahá'u'llah said . . . what will be coming - and must come - for a better world with peace and love and respect-- regardless of who you are and where you come from. I believe in the oneness of mankind. I believe we all come from the same source, that no race of people is inherently superior to any other. --Dizzy Gillespie

Poster: Laurie Lykken
Caption: The problem for Oedipus--both as a son and as a father--is a problem most of us experience, I think. This relates to our mortality, to our inevitable death, which we are somehow unable to accept. We say we do what we do for our children, but we usually do what we do for ourselves (which, of course, includes having children in the first place). When it is time to step down and let the next generation take charge of the kingdom, the power, the wealth, we balk because we do not really believe in our own mortality. Can we stop being human? Can we change the terms of being human, which is to accept the inevitability of death? I think Will Power touched on this issue when he mentioned the creative act. With the creative act, we become godlike and, for that moment, transcend our mortality. But this is only a moment, a satori. Then our humanity...our awareness of our own mortality along with our resistance to our mortality, returns. Can we do better? Yes, but only for that tanscendent moment. Perhaps we should be content with having at least that moment. Perhaps doing better means accepting our inability to accept death so that we no longer pin our desperation to live on in the face of our own inevitable death on our fathers and our sons (or on immigrants or gays or the myriad of others we have sought to destroy in order to gain the impossible--our own immortality).

Poster: Shirley (Talebah) Turner
Caption: I'm inspired by the challenge of the question. Perhaps there should be a designated National Day to Make Changes. Who knows what would become of our communities or, the world for that matter.

Poster: Bruce Laycook
Caption: Yes, I believe we must accept responsibility for ourselves and make the best choices we can. Abdicating responsibility for the choices we make and the lives we lead is unacceptable. Sometimes the impact we make may be small, but we must engage both individually and as a society. If we do, I believe we can have an incredibly positive impact on our world.

Poster: Marilyn Lynch
Caption: I don't know. Rule is such an patriarchal word and concept. Do we have the responsibility, privilege and passion to attempt to co-create our lives? Absolutely.

Poster: Butch
Caption: Yes, we have the power to control our own destiny, but we must give up the believe that our lives have been predetermined by God. If we belive we are going to fail, we will.

Poster: Harriet Huddle
Caption: Yes, If we become givers and stop being takers, and give as much as we can to help people who need help. If we stop being part of the machine and become more human. If we take at least one hour of every day to learn how to be more human. If we join a structured group that is trying to change the world, we can change anything!

Poster: RICK HENRY
Caption: Not one of us are existing in a vacuum. We are all members of a culture that has been created through events,economy,and technology. All of which contribute directly to our beliefs and values. There is a logic to our culture but we remain ignorant of that logic. This is a provocative statement. What we can change is ourselves. We can decide to be compassionate, honorable, truth- ful,kind, and thoughtful. Maybe this small contribution to our culture will cause a ripple but it is only in our heart where the world will begin to change. At least in this way.

Poster: Joy
Caption: For all those working so feverishly for the power to rule their own destiny, won't it be a major cosmic joke to realize there is no destiny. No endpoint. It was about the journey, the souls we meet, the fears we are willing to release, how much of ourselves will are willing to authentically be and share and that we do it more than once and being human is just a snipet of the entire circle of our cosmic soul that does not end with a destiny. We just do not reach nirvana or 'Heaven'. But then again, for those who never attempt to find the right kind of power to rule their ideal destiny, it may seem more like a cruel cosmic hoax if they find that their destiny truly is determined by the power of their will and actions as much as thier simple beliefs and thoughts!!

Poster: Nancy Drake
Caption: It doesn't sound like it.

Poster: lizzie ronsly
Caption: No. We don't have the power to change much at all. We like to imagine that we do, but in reality, the darkness just keeps on darkening the goodness. Nothing has ever worked, looking way back into the history of mankind, nothing has brought us all together as one. Nothing ever will. This place is not meant to be filled with peace and harmony. It is a planet of learning. So...No, we can't change things much at all. 100 years from now, there will be new rulers, new ideas, new tecniques, but it will still be non-united, and full of chaos and trouble. Trust me!! Lizzie

Poster: Rev. Erin McCabe
Caption: Certainly we create the experience of our lives through our states of consciousness-herein lies the key...as we shift our minds, we transform our lives. We create our global experience with our collective consciousness...and we change our world one thought at a time. Truly if we knew what lies within us, we would be astounded.