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Peg
USA
284 Posts |
 Posted - 06/14/2009 : 11:54:03
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Great job Forest.
Thanks for all of your efforts.
Peg
In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei |
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2009 : 21:22:01
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Thanks Peg!
I think that when our lives are transformed by a diagnosis of TMS, we get a burst of energy and want to share what we've learned with the world. We don't want them to suffer needlessly the way that we have. Working alone to bring about change can be lonely and frustrating, though, and we can rapidly burn out. Plus, when we work alone, it is very hard to get things done. When we cooperate, however, we are far more effective.
As any activist knows, the solution is to get organized.
A core part of setting up the TMS Wiki has been building a community of devoted TMS activists--like the people who will be attending the TMS Wiki's second wiki/activism conference (HilaryN, Pandamonium, Peg, MathewNJ, Webdan, ForestForTrees, Georgie Oldfield, Barbara Kline, LCSW-C, Lisa Morphopoulos, and Flutterby).
Anyone who wants to help with TMS activism can count on our support. It's a lot more fun to "save the world" when other people are involved! Therefore, if you are interested in helping to spread the word about TMS, I encourage you to join us.
I think that the wiki is a very natural thing to organize around because, like Wikipedia, it is protected by a copyleft rather than a copyright. This means that the content can be freely copied by anyone as long as they aren't making any money, provide appropriate attribution, and "share alike." (Legal info and more details here.) Thus, the wiki really is "owned by all TMSers."
Another reason to work with us is that we are very well connected with the community of TMS professionals and can help coordinate projects with the leadership of that group (Schubiner, Schechter, Clarke, Selfridge, etc.). Peg, Barbara, Georgie and I went to the TMS conference in Ann Arbor and made some terrific contacts there. I also had a chance to present the wiki to the entire conference, and it was incredibly warmly received (partially because of the Copyleft I mentioned above). Looking at our member list, no less than 26 TMS professionals have joined the wiki. Six of them contribute their time to answer questions, for free, at our Q&A section. In fact, when Dr. Schubiner first suggested that we make that section (it was his idea), he said that he was volunteering his time because he wanted to help draw attention to the wiki.
I'm not saying that change will come rapidly. On the contrary, I think that it will take a lot of hard work and patience. But I do think that it will come much more quickly if we work together.
For example, I used to run the Q&A With An Expert section of the wiki all by myself. I'm incredibly busy, and I fell behind with updating the questions. However, since I am working with Peg, I was able to ask for her help, and now she is working on the section almost every day! All of a sudden, thanks to her help, this wonderful program is back up and running again (and now we need more questions again! To post yours, click here). In fact, when I was training her, when we came upon a question about Fibromyalgia. Because we knew that Nancy Selfridge is a big supporter of the wiki, we just sent her an email, and she answered the question herself! (Dr. Selfridge had TMS for years that was diagnosed as Fibromyalgia, and wrote a book about TMS and Fibromyalgia. Dr. Sarno wrote in the forward of her book that, "This is a very important book.") It was very exciting. 
Forest
tmswiki.org |
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2009 : 13:47:18
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quote:
Originally posted by forestfortrees
If you are interested in TMS activism projects like the ones described above, you may also want to attend the wiki's second wiki/activism teleconference on June 20.
The teleconference went off very successfully yesterday. HilaryN, Pandamonium, Peg, MathewNJ, Webdan65, Barbara Kline, LCSW-C, Lisa Morphopoulos, and I all attended. Dr. Stracks, who wrote the text in the Dr. Stracks on explaining TMS to friends/family thread even dropped by to talk about setting up a TMS clinic in Chicago. He will be starting up a program very similar to Dr. Schubiner's, but will probably customize it as he goes along.
Peg and I talked about the work that we are doing and have done on the "Q&A with an Expert" project (recently revived by Peg, who is probably ready for more questions. Post new questions at the bottom of this page). Hilary talked about the Meetup and Wiki Tour events that she has been organizing for the public (the next one is next Sunday. Please join us to show your support!). HilaryN also talked about updating the Specific Symptom & Diagnoses project, which we could use all of your help with, especially if you have a TMS symptom that some people may not know much about. Matthew and Peg talked about their TMS Success Stories - Live panel project, in which they will be putting on free internet teleconferences patterned off of Dr. Sarno's alumni panels. Webdan65 talked about his plans for the Success Story Videos on YouTube project that he discussed above. Finally, I talked about some ideas for the future, as well as how we can communicate and keep organized to maximize our effectiveness.
Whenever you get a bunch of TMSers together on a teleconference, a wonderful dialogue always seems to spontaneously arise. Therefore, while we had an agenda, we also just tried to let the conversation naturally flow.
It seems like we are beginning to see the birth of a well organized and highly movement of TMS activism. It calls to mind the famous quote by Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
I think that coordinating and organizing our efforts (and forming a supportive community so that we have fun along the way) will be crucial to our success, so what we did during the conference was very exciting to me.
If people are interested in guided tours of the wiki, both HilaryN and I would be happy to give them. Just drop us a line.
Forest
tmswiki.org |
Edited by - forestfortrees on 06/21/2009 15:36:59 |
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forestfortrees
393 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2009 : 12:50:50
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Peg shared a wonderful quote on the wiki's mailing list that I thought was worth passing on:
quote:
All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
--Victor Hugo
Forest
tmswiki.org |
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Capn Spanky
112 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2009 : 13:16:27
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| Dog-gone-it! I lost track of this and forgot. I hope you have something similar again soon. Is there an MP3 of the teleconference for those of who would like to hear it? |
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HilaryN
United Kingdom
879 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2009 : 15:56:21
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Ah! I wondered where you'd got to, Capn Spanky - we missed you at the last online meetup, too, in May.
We're doing another online meetup and wiki tour on Sunday:
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5755
If you're interested let me know, and if the time doesn't suit we'll be doing another one soon.
Hilary N |
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Capn Spanky
112 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2009 : 11:11:14
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| I definitely am interested, Hillary. I'll be contacting you. Thanks! |
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Peg
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2009 : 11:54:27
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I can't take credit for that great quote.
Allan (forum member) shared that with me and after the quote, he wrote; Dr. Sarno's time has come!
Peg
In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei |
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The March to Medical Competence
