In this short video (which I saw on No Impact Man’s blog), researchers converted a staircase into a piano, making it a feature in an otherwise boring transit routine. As a result, they found that 66% more people chose it over the escalator than usual. There are other examples at TheFunTheory.com, a project of Volkswagen, and they are also running a contest with a prize of 2500€ going to the best new fun theory ideas.

Thinking about how this might work on a large scale is in and of itself a lot of fun. So much of environmentalism right now is about self-denial and shrinking—but does it have to be? What if it wasn’t? As we build new ways to live, how can we make them playful and more fun than what we are doing now?

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I am giving a talk tonight in NYC all about The Sunny Way, and how it is informed and supported by the teachings of Evolutionary Enlightenment.

Would love to see you there. I guarantee you will be 100% more fired up when you leave than when you arrived.

The EnlightenNext center in New York is located at 243 W. 30th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue, 11th floor. We’re getting started at 7:30 and asking a $10 donation.

Hope to see you there!
Megan

Megan Dietz (known to some as Madge) lives in Brooklyn, works as a software designer, and is old enough to be president. The Sunny Way began as a glimmer in her eye and she couldn’t be happier that it is finally a tadpole. She retains an optimistic point of view on purpose (both as a political act and as a way to piss off cynics) and encourages you to do the same.

Graying, taciturn Scotsman

My name is Stephanie “Stella” Griffith. I will be thirty years old this year, which I am really excited about. I am going to rock thirty. Five years ago when I was living in Los Angeles I met my soul mate, Zach and married him a month later. I knew he was the one for me when I asked him what he wanted to do with his life and he told me, “I’m not sure yet, but I know I want to enjoy it.” We moved back to my hometown of Minneapolis about two years ago to be closer to my huge, wonderfully supportive extended family. Zach channeled his boundless energy and pyromania into a career in construction and I am home with our amazing little girls, Cheyenne, who is four and Isabella who is two and a half. I like to think of us as your classic young family with more love than money. We are in the process of moving into the house I grew up in. I am really excited about that, too. It’s strange to think that 12 years ago I couldn’t wait to get out of there and today I can’t wait to be back. Life is funny that way.

Matt Morrow develops and directs new plays about shark attacks, murderous teenagers, and anything else he can turn into a musical. He loves dancing, dirty martinis, and secondhand crap ... but then, don’t we all? He also recently completed a 10-day Master Cleanse, so if you have any questions about how to get through the tough days, he’s your man.

Victoria is a teacher and organic baker who lives on one island (Long) and works on another (Roosevelt). She’s The Sunny Way’s resident expert in composting and everything else that will help you not throw stuff away. We love her for her warmth, smile, and the fact that she brings pastries everywhere she goes.

From her home in Lenox, Massachusetts, Uli writes “These are powerful times to be alive and, as scary as much of it is, I am thrilled by what humanity can become in this shift to another society. Already integral thinking is poking its head out of the ground like spring flowers after the winter!”

Rena Gross, a charming, delightful, brilliant, extremely modest young maverick, considers herself to be the consummate New York eccentric. Rena loves books, greenmarkets, cooking, concerts, and the park. She despises asparagus, stuffing, stubbed toes, and people who think that waking up before 10 am is a good idea. Rena does not know how to play the drums, but enjoys crashing around on them.

Jennifer Bannan is a marketing consultant and author of a book of short stories, Inventing Victor. She lives in Pittsburgh with her two children.

I was born in India, raised in England and now living in the center of the universe, Manhattan. I work in 3D and computer graphics freelancing.  I would call myself a evolutionary soul, trying to understand who I am, and uncynically asking questions about our humanity, while trying to keep the world alive long enough so I and everyone can do that. I am human, I am confused, lost, open, broken, sold, bought, found, happy, alive and mostly filled with the wonder of “What is going ON?” - I care about the world, I care about humans, I love technology and gadgets, and motorbikes, I love modern culture and think it is the highest achievement the universe has ever made, in a thousand years, we will be talking about this time as the great transition, the time when humanity moved from individual survival, to collective cosmic exploration, from fear to fascination, from separation to oneness…yes its painful, but if god’s only child’ren can’t do who can?

Fawn Hoener shares her home with three of her four children. The oldest is a grown-up, a developmental stage to which the younger three aspire. She is a hospice nurse for love and money, a poet for fun and her favorite hobby is decluttering.

Maia Conty is a life coach, yoga instructor, and musician. A self-described country girl, she is making it work with her husband and daughter in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, known for its amazing Christmas lights and Italian food (but not for its ecofriendliness).

Maura is a cynic, much to Madge’s dismay, but is still doing her best to promote the sunny way of life. She spends her days strapped to a desk promoting other things, and enjoys cooking, technology, romping through museums, and various grain juices fermented to perfection. She lives in the East Village with her boyfriend and cat.

Jessica Roemischer graduated from Princeton University in 1982 and has, for the past two decades, taught and performed music internationally. She is also a writer and photographer, and has been a Senior Editor of the award-winning, international quarterly What is Enlightenment? Magazine under the direction of spiritual visionary Andrew Cohen. Jessica interviewed for WIE some of the world’s most influential spiritual leaders and cultural luminaries such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, theologian Karen Armstrong, and guitarist Carlos Santana. 

Jessica is now engaged full-time in teaching and performing music and has developed a unique musical style that draws from the great pianistic tradition of the past two centuries while combining jazz, classical and rock idioms.  She teaches privately and at the Riverbrook Residence for Developmentally Disabled Women in Stockbridge, MA.  Every day she sees proof that every human being, regardless of age, level of experience, or limitation, can access the source of beauty within themselves. Visit her site at Piano Beautiful for videos, audio clips and more…