Updated Mission Statement

Foggy Bottom Farm Vision Statement

Mik Rosenthal, Ed.D., L.C.S.W., Founder and CEO

Foggy Bottom Farm is a state-of-the-art magnificent and magical place of a retreat center with a threefold Mission in three areas of interest:

· To provide interactive hands-on activities focused upon

        creating personal and professional growth, happiness

and personal peace,

·  To promote physical and emotional wellness through

     teaching and modeling the principles and practices of

     holistic living,

·   And to provide instruction in artistic and creative

    expression in fine art and fine craft

as our standard programming through classes, workshops and other types of gatherings.

We believe that activity and experience within, among and between these three areas will help people to be the most  emotionally fulfilling, artistically creative and physically healthy they can be.  One of the concepts that makes us unique is that we  encourage and make it possible for Participants to interact with one another across all of our areas of interest as a way of observing concepts totally new to them---and thus entice them to explore them.  This, we believe, will enable them to discover more about themselves and thus their potential to grow as they do so, in a warm, pleasant and supportive environment---both in person and online.

Our extended Mission is to continually empower all who are associated with us to make a positive difference in the world as they cause their lives and the lives of others to flourish through the utilization of the ideas and skills we impart to them.  It  is our hope that they will utilize the ideas, skills and attitudes learned from us as their personal tools to create real and permanent good.

In addition to the activities at our state-or-the-art “green” facility, we provide extensive online programming in a wide range of  topics in our ”areas of interest.”

The business model of Foggy Bottom Farm offers both Presenters and Participants a user friendly model of education through recreation that is priced fairly for our Participants while being financially worthwhile for our Presenters.  We attract preceptive and worthwhile clients, many of whom become more intensely involved with us as their experiences progress, and many move forward to become Presenters.

We fervently believe in our hearts and souls that the world needs the kind of educational experiences we are offering.  It is our great hope that these experiences will raise the collective consciousness of all who partake of them to perform to new levels of achievement. 

Our intention is to provide the world with humanitarian and artistic leaders who will better the human condition in a process that is most effective as well as doable in a cost effective manner, within an atmosphere of welcome, relaxation and quiet excitement.

As a most important feature of our activities, we offer what we call “segmented programming.”  Segmented programming allows us to schedule specific weeks or days for specific specialized kinds of events in addition to and apart from our standard programming.  In our segmented programming we  also offer specially scheduled times and programming to meet the concerns  of special needs children and adults as they address their issues within the scope of our Mission, as well as within their personal interests and concerns. 

In line with this, we also offer Workshops to train those interested in the design and implementation of our activities and programming, standard or specialized, to become Presenters in their areas of interest at our facility as well as online.  We fully appreciate the contributions of our presenters, and they are well paid.

We envision ourselves as a service organization that brings teachers and learners together to help each grow substantially as a result of their interaction with the other---within, among and between the areas of our Mission.

We make it our business to bring in experienced Presenters to train those of our Presenters who seek special attention in specific areas, because we do everything possible to help our Presenters be the best it is possible to find anywhere.

We also encourage our Participants who come to want to become Presenters to do so, and we  further encourage and support those who want to develop their own networks in the areas of their passionate interests.  As they do , they come to form an additional network with Foggy Bottom Farm as its ultimate core.  As each grows, each network becomes a community in miniature whose members envision themselves as mutual friends and mentors.---and consider all facets of Foggy Bottom Farm the center of the practice of their endeavors, and a place they will and regularly do attend for training, companionship and relaxation.

Because of the strong feeling of membership we create, all of these miniature communities come together to form a strong backbone of support for our activities and, ultimately, our facility.  Using the miracle of modern electronic communication, each of these communities can be interconnected person by person, as they wish,  and hold meetings online at their convenience---and in person whenever possible, no matter where in the world they may be.  In this way, Foggy Bottom Farm does its part to develop, create and support a market for leading edge teachers and their followers, all of whom, we hope, will make a positive difference in our world.  Therefore, in very basic terms, we earn our money by helping people be useful, both to themselves and others with everyone living “the good life” in the process.

Our Presenters are developing international reputations for their work, and Participants attend our facility from all over the United States and the world to interact with and learn from them.  People all over the world have an interest in our activities because they can easily understand how they will benefit emotionally, socially, holistically and creatively from partaking of them.

Another most needed part of our organization is the use of volunteers.  Volunteers can become a valuable part of our staff by accepting as payment credits toward programming based upon hours worked.  This will also give volunteers a well-earned feeling of belonging, and we welcome the expertise they will share.

The physical facility of Foggy Bottom Farm is an enchanting and magical place that makes best advantage of its tranquil, rural  location.  As we start, everything we have constructed and will construct supports our activities.  For example, for our workshops in the fiber arts, we raise our own sheep for their wool in an idyllic setting with working Collie dogs showing their herding skills.  (Raising sheep is one of our Seasonal Programs for which we have professional arrangements for the supervision of students wanting to gain experience in this area).  Our kitchen, which is also a teaching kitchen (another Program, also with supervision, and operated in the same manner), is supplied with vegetarian food from our own organic and edible forest gardens (each a Seasonal Program of its own, also  with supervision).  We also provide both long and short-term Workshop instruction in the areas in which we offer Seasonal Programming.  We have chosen to be basically vegetarian because anyone, no matter what their religious or dietary  background may be, can come here without concern about their meals.

As we open, we also have sufficient programming space in our facility for all types of personal growth Workshops, which, of course, we will run simultaneously with all of our other Workshops.

In addition, as we open, we have well equipped shops for the many aspects of Workshops we present in the Fiber Arts (knitting and crocheting, spinning, weaving and dyeing, for which we also grow

our own plants to make the dyes).  Also featured are facilities for the Fine Arts (painting & drawing, screen-printing, printmaking, block printing and digital photography). 

Another area in which we will feature Workshops is the writing of adult and children’s’ literature and the performance art of storytelling. 

To compliment our programming in storytelling and children’s literature, we have a complete, but separate, book arts studio where we design, print and create fine, high quality books and also serve as a small fine press.  Participants may also learn all processes  of the book arts in our facility.

Additional Workshops for leatherwork and polymer clay are also included in our Fine Art and Fine Craft offerings, with more craft disciplines being added to meet the needs and wants of our Participants as we grow.

Foggy Bottom Farm also has an online presence in which our Presenters can sell their goods and services. Fine Art and Fine Craftwork is also sold in our on-campus gallery, and the publications of our Presenters are sold in our bookstore and  online.  Literary works of out Presenters are lso placed in out Library.

The latest Apple computers are in use wherever needed for all of our Workshops as well as our work online.

We constantly endeavor to provide connections for both Participants and Presenters to understand how and why each of their  areas of passionate interest connect with and support those of others.  This, we feel, promotes a feeling of continuity for all of our efforts and helps to make everyone feel highly valued.

We are also quite fortunate in that we have a highly interested and motivated Lawyer, Board of Directors and a Development Team totally dedicated to our progress and success.

Because our Presenters have invested in themselves to come with us, either before or after they do,  Foggy Bottom Farm benefits from their desire to do everything they can to make sure we are successful, because as they are, so will we be.  As such, our Presenters take on our “We don’t give up and we don’t give in” attitude of getting things accomplished, and most of all, they share our Vision.  All of us work “better than beautifully” together, and thus we have a cadre of well qualified devoted Presenters to call upon as we expand. 

The work  of the CEO is to coordinate everything and keep the entire project flowing smoothly, and our staff in instrumental in accomplishing this.   We are most fortunate that everyone fully appreciates everyone else and work very well together.

Our Presenters also have a place on our Website and can sell their goods and services through us.

Our facility is homelike and inviting---people actually want to come because they find it “soothingly invigorating.”  Some of our visitors come, when there is space, just to “relax and take in the creativity,” On the surface, we appear to be a quaint and tranquil “Victorian looking” village, but underneath we are a thoroughly modern and totally “green”  facility. We are able to have up to 180 people stay overnight, and because we rely so much on personal contact to make our work successful, we do not want to grow larger.  Our Workshops are generally limited to 12 Participants so each gets ample time with the Presenter, as we go about both our weekend and full week  programming. Our Seasonal programming creates permanent ongoing activities in and of themselves, and as such they require paid staff to operate them.

Any space remaindered in our housing facilities can be rented by those who just want to see what we do and enjoy an informal vacation at our facility or in our area.  We are able to present ten workshops at any particular time.

As the Founder, of Foggy Bottom Farm, Mik Rosenthal, is the culmination of everything many years of education, training and experience as both educator and therapist to do the Programming that we are doing.  He holds a B.A.,  three Masters degrees, (one in special and exceptional education, one in guidance and counseling and one in social work,) as well as a doctorate in education.  He also has extensive experience in the crafts of jewelry and photography.  Everything he has accomplished in his professional and personal experience qualifies him to handle this project successfully.  The thoughts to assemble this project have been in process within him for many years.

This project also represents the triumph over years of dealing with persistent naysayers and incompetent professionals, all of whom were a detriment. 

All of this brings to mind  the ultimate reason not to give up or give in:

“For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heavens!”  Kohelet III.1

And we will find our time and our place!

Plans and Anticipation

Live Programming in Princeton, NJ

Foggy Bottom Farm is presently making plans for our work for the 2011 spring and summer seasons.   Anticipate some really great things happening!

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the live Workshops in Knitting, Optimal Health and Storytelling  we had planned for our live in  Princeton, NJ, Workshops needed to be postponed until later on this spring or summer---when we can get the Presenters together again.  Since “Foggy” is a young organization, there have been some growing pains, but we are working very hard to heal them---and we are!

In addition, other Workshops of the same type as those postponed are in the works, all presented by experts in their respective fields!   We hope to have a well-rounded catalog on our Website from which you can choose the Workshops you will want to include in your summer fun in the near future, and are presently recruiting Presenters.  And, since  we are always  interested in expanding our catalog,  if you are a Presenter or know one you can recommend, please contact us as soon as possible.

A Workshop, actually a Group Workshop, that has been added to the summer 2011 lineup is one that concerns itself with helping Participants with interface most effectively with personal relationships. 

The Workshop will be “hands-on” and interactive, so that Participants will be exposed to ideas new to them and given an opportunity to see how they will work in situations in their own Relationships.  Our idea is to explore what makes a Relationship successful, how to begin a Relationship, and most of all, as we will explore together, how to build and sustain a Relationship.  The Workshop is designed to stand on its own, but also to allow for additional follow-up Workshops if Participants would like to partake of them.

Mik Rosenthal, Ed.D., L.C.S.W., an experienced psychotherapist and founder of Foggy Bottom Farm will lead this Workshop.  Participants in this Workshop will receive a copy of the book, “Ancient Insights into Modern Relationships, ” by Dr. Mik, which is expected to be published in the late spring by Indigo Heart Press.

The time and sign-up information are To Be Announced.

This leads to another Workshop, also led by Dr. Mik.  We  are pleased to announce that Foggy Bottom Farm has agreed to assist Indigo Heart Press in finding authors who are worthy of publication.  And here, Foggy Bottom Farm is going to ask for assistance in planning what this workshop will be.

A bit of thought to start the process rolling: we are seeking authors who wish to help “heal the world” from the concerns we are facing.  Therefore,  we are seeking material dealing with the holistic concerns of sustainability and natural health, concerns with interpersonal skills, and concepts dealing with how to successfully work with creative and artistic skills . 

In this Workshop, Participants will discover how to take their ideas and organize them into coherent components and then link them together successfully.  Participants will also discover how to work with an editor and how to productively handle a modernized process of publishing, all in a supportive, invigorating and industrious atmosphere.

The time and sign-up information are To Be Announced.

As always, we’re open to your ideas also.  So feel free to contact us!

Since the cost of travel, especially of running one’s car, is rising so quickly, it’s time to think about all the good things you can do right here in Princeton.  Think about this, and then think about Foggy Bottom Farm!

Please watch our “Live Programming in Princeton” page on our Website for further information.

Programming Online

And One More Thing: A New and Exciting Telesummit!

In the near future, Foggy Bottom Farm will present a six part (online) Telesummit with Dr. Felix Padilla entitled “Know Your Real, Authentic Self and Experience a Life of Self Fulfillment.”  Plans are in the works now, and we hope to begin marketing this Telesummit as soon as possible. Again, please check back on our Website for full details.

Well, folks, this is where we are right now.  And, with your help, we’re going to keep on growing!   And so will you!

In Peace,

Mik

11/22/10

“The Craft Show”

Yesterday, as part of our recruitment drive to find Presenters who will teach in our live, face-to-face programming in Princeton this coming spring, as well as in our on-line programming, I went to  a very fine, high quality juried craft show, right here in Princeton.  The show was sponsored by the local “Y, and has been a pre-Thanksgiving feature of our community for many years.” “Juried,” by the way, means that those who are allowed to present their work in the show have to meet certain exacting criteria pertaining to the quality of their work---it was not just a “sign up and bring in your stuff and sell it” kind of a show.  Going further, “juried” also means that each craftsperson had to show originality of design and accomplished technical skills in addition to meeting the highest quality standards of craft expertise.

There were 136 greatly talented craftspeople in attendance, with the show being spread out all over the first floor of the local city block square middle school.  It took about 5 hours for me to meander around the show to determine what fine crafts I saw there that would meet our needs at this time; by this  I mean that basically, in addition to all the fine qualities ensured by the jurying process, I was seeking those fine crafts that could be taught in a typical school classroom and also be transplanted o a non-specialized (non-technical) setting  in  private home.  Our idea here is to have our Participants be able to explore the craft and decide if they want to continue working in it before going further.  In other words, those crafts that could not be worked on at home, such as fine jewelry, woodwork and ceramics are not considered here because of the equipment needed and degree of expertise developed over a period of time required to produce them.

So, with this in mind, let’s take a tour of the show together!

The show was well laid out so that every booth was different from the ones near it.  This made every booth a pleasant surprise because every booth one would visit was different from the one before and after it.  Every booth held something worthwhile to see.

For every one of the “stops” mentioned here, the craftsperson was invited to teach in Princeton this spring, and speaking with them was a most delightful experience.  Now,….. It appears that I probably have a bit of persuading to do but that’s enjoyable in its own way!

The first stop was at a booth that not only contained well executed Fine Craft, it also made a statement concerning Holistic Living.  This craftswoman was taking sweatshirts, cutting them down the front and adding beautifully embroidered edgings and collars to them, all of her own design.  The collars and edgings were made of Japanese silk with all kinds of beautiful and intricate designs displayed.

The next stop was at the booth of a quilter who has done this show for many years.  The work was of traditional designs, but the colors were contemporary.  While some of the quilts were made from brand new material of both solid and variously patterned fabrics, some of them were made from clothing that had been worn out through use.  Some quilts made from material formerly used as clothing were meant to be heirlooms and passed down through generations as memorial quilts.  Many different sizes were displayed, from a lap quilt to one that could be used as a wall hanging or fitted to a queen-sized bed.

It is most interesting that design motifs from one Fine Craft can be carried over into another medium.  The next booth visited was that of master woodworkers who were making exceptionally fine quality and finely detailed wooden boxes (to be used on one’s desk) with “quilt designs” created from different species of wood to create the different colors.  This was not a veneer (a thin covering over a base wood), because the design was continuous through the entire piece of wood. These folks were also holistic in the fact that they were also using recycled wood as much as possible in their products.  Unfortunately, this craft cannot be practiced without specialized tools, but was included here to demonstrate that designs can be transferred.

Still another quilt maker was making very colorful artistically patterned quilted clothing---vests and jackets that were beautifully designed for casual ware, but could also be worn to informal social occasions.

At the next booth I stopped at, I was looking at an artisan making exceptionally finely detailed small bowls and boxes of polymer clay---a material that is relatively new on the Fine Craft scene, and has the advantage of being able to be worked on at home, without a lot of expensive equipment.  The material needs to be “baked” in a “kiln,” but the “kiln” is in reality a toaster oven that one can use on their kitchen table (but don’t use it for food preparation after you use it for polymer clay).  A widely used design by this artisan was the arabesque, a complicated finely detailed swirling pattern, in this case made of different colors of polymer clay painstakingly cut and pieced together---along with some other processes.  For her larger bowls---and even vases---glass bowls were used as a foundation and the polymer clay “fired” over the glass.

Still another stop was at a booth where two very experienced craftswomen were making all kinds of baskets, but specializing in the Nantucket Lightship Baskets now made in sizes to be used as ladies’  handbags.  An interesting factor at this booth was that the craftspeople were demonstrating their work and taking questions concerning how it is done.  They made this craft look easy---and it is, once you know how to do it!  And the items you ca make are beautiful as well as functional!  This craft can easily be enjoyed at home with a minimum of tools.

At still another booth, a craftswoman was displaying beaded jewelry, with beads being used to create large round beads and other shapes. The large beads have designs worked into them, again being made from beads. The time and patience needed to create these pieces are both demanding, but the work produced is not to be found anywhere else.  It appears that one does not need an elaborate workshop to create these pieces, but certainly patience and a good sense of design are required.  The good news is that patience can be acquired and “a good sense of design“ can be learned.

The last booth I will report on here was that of a photographer.  Most beautifully framed (in knotted and burled woods---not readily available in framing stores, since they were especially made) photographs were quite large prints, (some 16 x 20) taken on film, not with a digital camera.  There was quite a sizable gallery of prints displayed, most taken of various extremely photogenic sections of Italy and Spain.  There were also prints of outstandingly picturesque doorways, gardens and other architectural details, again predominantly in Italy and Spain.  While the photographer spoke about the extensive array of equipment he used in his work, his most pressing problem is that the paper and chemicals he uses are literally drying up---they are no longer being manufactured, certainly not in the United States, and in very limited quantities overseas.  The work shown here (as expressed by its inclusion in many prominent venues of public display)  was exquisite in its color, composition and detail, but the sad part is that the future of work of this quality is limited, simply because the materials needed to produce it are being phased out.  Unfortunately, while there are alternative processes for black and while photography, there are none for color---and the increasingly popular digital pho tography has a ways to go to “catch up,” when compared with the quality of work shown here.

OK!  I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of a very fine craft show.  Your comments and suggestions for programming, both on line and face-to-face in Princeton, are strongly encouraged.  Our contact information is included below, and we look forward to having you use it---and soon!

In Peace,

Mik

11/11/10 

“Possibilities”

For those of you who have seen our Website before, the first part of this two-part blog will look familiar. We did this in order to maintain coherence and continuity, --- while giving those who are seeing us for the first time some background information concerning what we are doing in order to make sense of the material that follows.  This will be the only time we will do this.

 We invite and welcome your feedback and ideas, for this is how we envision the online and face-to-face Community we are building to both grow and sustain itself.  We are at the start of a Great Adventure, one that will only able to succeed because of the participation of many worthwhile and creative people who will also receive the benefits of its success as the Project continues to unfold.  Our first endeavor is to get people involved.  We recognize that the Project can only be empowered  by personal involvement.  As a Non-Profit, there are numerous methods available to us to raise the funding we need, but none of these are available to us without observable personal involvement taking place first.

Part I

Please allow me to introduce or, if you have seen our materials earlier, to reintroduce myself.  I am Mik Rosenthal, Ed.D. (and yes, I spell “Mike” without the “e”) founder and CEO of Foggy Bottom Farm,  our Non Profit educational and recreational retreat center. We meet online in both live and recorded Workshops, and in live face-to-face Workshops and other activities in Princeton, NJ---both of which have already begun and are progressing.   

The  focus of all of our program offerings is in the three areas of Personal Growth, Fine Art and Fine Craft, and Holistic Living.  We feel that having worthwhile experiences within, among and between these three areas will enable one to thrive emotionally, enjoy the good feelings that come from being creative as well as reap the benefits of a down-to-earth healthy lifestyle---in other words, be the best all around person they can possibly be and be able to receive the prosperity and abundance that naturally flows forth from this state of being.

We are presently building infrastructure to support the building of our retreat center that will be located on a beautiful 155-acre farm to which we have access in the Pennsylvania Wilds Recreation Area. This project is real!  Development has proceeded to the point where we have our NPDES Permit, which means we are allowed build!  All we need to do now is, as we build our infrastructure of Workshop Programming, Participants and Presenters, to decide what we want to build, why we want to build it, and what it will look like.  Programming and facilities planning must go hand in hand so that we make a powerful and coherent statement we can use when we begin our fundraising activities that are expected to begin sometime in the spring of 2011.

But even before we have our actual Center, Participants and Presenters in all of our programming will be able to step back from the world and sign up for the Workshops they want while enjoying and benefiting from them.  Everything is being done so that those who participate in our Workshops will take away with them a sense of enlightenment and fulfillment that will help them change their lives and the lives of others through using the many forms of real and positive good they will discover as they explore our offerings with us.

And now to shift gears a bit: Roughly mid-way through last August, I posted a blog describing the first of the live programming we did in Princeton, NJ the previous April.  Karen Curry, our consultant who has performed wonders in helping to  get “Foggy” off the ground and in operation, presented the programming, (called “The Prosperity Revolution”) which was very well received.  In retrospect, in regard to the phrase, “getting Foggy off the ground,” perhaps I should  say “on the ground,” literally. After Karen’s program, Karen, her friend Aaron Parker, who is our architect, and Karen’s toddler daughter, Ayelet, all went up to Pennsylvania to meet with Bob Cunningham, our engineer, who showed us around the Farm with an eye to the possible location of future buildings.  Part of the Farm is flat land, heavily wooded, and part is flat, open fields.  Also, part of the Farm, between these two areas, is a beautiful, long hillside with a Southern exposure---ideal for the solar roof panels associated with green construction.  The entire layout of the Farm has many possibilities!  Our original plot plan shows a central location with large buildings useful for the main part of our activities, with few buildings located in other areas.  But now, that we are taking into account the entire range of possibilities the landscape of the Farm has to offer, we need to look at all of the possible ways that we can create the kind of facility that will be useful, attractive, and most of all, welcoming and comfortable so that those who come to partake of our activities will want to return.  It is these possibilities that we will look at together here---and begin to come up with a coherent plan outlining what we will do so that our activities and facilities both compliment and energize one another.

Part II

No project of the magnitude of this one con proceed without the concerted help of many people working together.  Up to this point I have been working primarily with the afore mentioned Karen Curry (of Houston, TX) Aaron Parker (of Minneapolis MN) in addition to our attorney, David Gaynor (of Princeton, NJ)  as well as our engineer Bob Cunningham (of Wellsboro, PA) in addition to others who were part of the team who made it possible for us to attain our NPDES Permit . All of these folks are “crackerjacks” at what they do, and the Project would not have come as far as it has without them.  But none of us are unable to come up with answers to all the questions that need to be asked, either.

So, ….. this is where we need your help in answering questions that only you can answer, and this is where we need to become interactive so that together we can grow.

We can divide the questions into two main groups:  Questions that deal with the kind of Programming we will offer, and Questions that deal with the ultimate facility we will build.

We can get started with ten questions in each group:

Programming Questions:

Is there an interest in counseling type groups for Personal Growth?

Is there an interest in spiritual and/or motivational perspectives?

Is there an interest in large group forums or in smaller, more close knit groups?

Are you more interested in craft projects that can be done at home, or in those that require a specialized workshop?

What areas are you most interested in regarding Holistic Living?

What kinds/types of Fine (High Quality) Crafts are of interest?

Is the Natural Health area of Holistic Living of interest?

Are you interested in combining Fine Crafts (such as combining photography with book arts [handmade books])?

Are you interested in Fine Craft you can actually use rather than to simply enjoy looking at?

Any and all statements relating to or expending the questions already raised that you may have.

Facilities Questions:

When we build, should each Fine Craft have its own building?

What supportive/specialized activities that would require their own building (such as a Sanctuary  or a Library)—that would complement our main Programming do you envision enticing you to visit our facility?

Would an organic garden and/or an edible forest garden be of interest to you? (We have the space for acres of both!)

Would you attend a program concerning raising sheep for their wool --- we have the space to provide it of it is of interest--- be an activity you would consider?

We will be building a green facility.  Would a Victorian village “look” or  a more “modern look” be of greater interest?

Would you be interested in a four-season facility (located in north-central Pennsylvania?

Would you like a facility you can reside at for a week or would going off the premises be of interest?

For a really fine, brand new facility, how long a time would you be willing to drive to attend?

Would you like the location of the building of our facility you would spend most of your time in be in wooded or open land?

Any and all statements relating to or expending the questions already raised that you may have.

As you can see, there are many “Possibilities.”  Let’s start discussing them!

OK!  I will do all I can to get a blog out to you every week, and I look forward to your responses!

In Peace,

Mik

P.S.  Would you be interested in an informal free discussion group concerning planning our Programming and facilities meeting through a conference call ?  How long a call and at what intervals?

4/16/10

Dear Folks and Friends,

If you attended the first live face-to-face Workshop sponsored by FOGGY BOTTOM FARM--PRINCETON, a Non Profit of The Ingathering Circle, Inc. on April 11, you were in for a really big treat with a Workshop presented by Karen! If you were not fortunate enough to attend, “not to worry!”  More are coming, both on-line and in real time.

Karen was wonderful, as always, and presented her workshop called THE PROSPERITY REVOLUTION.  Those attending interacted well with Karen and one another, each receiving a great deal of personal benefit concerning their own very worthwhile projects. To make this Workshop happen, Karen and her infant daughter, Ayelet, came in from Houston, and Karen’s friend, Aaron came in from Minneapolis.  This took some doing, but  everything worked our extremely well!

There was much to cover, and Karen covered it very well, easily personalizing the material for those who asked questions.

In my own experience, and I am a product of THE PROSPERITY REVOLUTION Workshop, I feel the experience has helped me greatly.  As always, a workshop with Karen is a new and profound adventure!  I have found Karen’s workshops a major force in motivation and concentration on realizing my dream project, FOGGY BOTTOM FARM become real.  What makes this so, for me, is her intense ability to inspire one with her non-theological spirituality, and with this spirituality, I never feel alone. This is and has been a major help for me.  Our FOGGY BOTTOM FARM website will soon provide online classes and workshops to create the infrastructure of a Community that seeks interaction with teens, lifelong learners, families and people with special needs and concerns* within and between three major Spheres of Interest.  These Spheres of Interest are: Personal Growth, Fine Art and Fine Craft, and Holistic Living. We feel that motivating and nurturing people to create a balanced life within, among and between a variety of aspects of these three Spheres of Interest will enable them to live the most pleasant, creative and healthy lives they can possibly lead.  This, in short, is our Vision and our Mission. Please see our website, created by Karen, at foggybottomfarm.org to discover more about us.

After THE PROSPERITY REVOLUTION Workshop, another true and real-life adventure began.  Karen’s friend Aaron her infant daughter, Ayelet, and I actually went up to look over Foggy Bottom Farm with our Project’s  engineer, Bob.  On the way up, on one of the quaint back roads of Pennsylvania, there was a sign that said “Bridge Out---Detour.”  So we detoured, not knowing where we were or where we were going, though we knew where we wanted to go.  We were traveling a route that I had never traveled before, so I was of totally no help.  In addition, it was now about 11PM and Ayelet was getting tired, Aaron was getting “most unhappy” with not knowing where we were or where we were going, and I, sometimes called “Sir Mik the Navigator,” was of totally no help. To top all that off, we discovered there was a problem with the brakes on my car, so that when they were applied, the whole front end of the car shook---something that had never happened before.  Finally, we recognized the road we were supposed to be on and followed it into the place where we were going to stay, in Wellsboro, PA.  Later on, when I described the experience as “We took the scenic route!,” Aaron quickly said “But it was dark.”  I told him “not to get technical.”

The next day, Monday, after a good country breakfast, we met with Bob at his office and he got all of us into his diesel truck and off we went to look high and low, but mostly high, over the 155 acres of FOGGY BOTTOM FARM.  This was an exhilarating experience.  Aaron, who is a multiple award winning Green architect, looked over the Farm and started to come up with some really wonderful and creative ideas of what could be accomplished there when we build.  And building will happen!

Then, we went to look at the existing old house down on the lower end of the property.  When I first went into the house, I immediately knew something was wrong.  I heard water running, but could not tell where it was from.  What had happened was that a water pipe had broken in one of he walls and the pump on the well was continuing to keep working.  We found extensive water damage as well as a flooded basement.  Our main thing with the house now is to determine what can/will be done with it.  We have already started working on that, and we will persevere and are continuing to move forward!

By then it was time to return to Princeton, where Karen, Ayelet and Aaron had stayed before the Workshop so that they could return to Houston and Minneapolis.  The adventure, however, continued.  On the way back, the cooling system on my car exploded (after business hours, of course!) on Monday.  After much doing we were able to rent a car and get back o Princeton late Monday evening.  So now you understand why I could not write this blog before now

However, all this being as it may, we need to remember our mainstay “quotes” from FOGGY BOTTOM FARM:’’

“WE DON’T GIVE UP AND WE DON’T GIVE IN!!!”

and

“IF ONE WAY ‘DON’T’ WORK, ANOTHER WAY WILL---FIND IT AND DO IT!

Good things are happening.  Please see our website for our free “Telesummit” Schedule for some fantastically interesting Presenters.  Also, if you are interested in being a Presenter either on our website or live in Princeton this summer, please see our website, FoggyBottomFarm.org

Please note, there is a difference in how things will work for our paid Presenters on-line and our paid Presenters for our live face-to-face gatherings in Princeton this fall and winter.

Please call me for more information as soon as possible so we can get started working together!

In Peace,

Mik

Mik Rosenthal, Ed.D.

Founder and Executive Director,

Foggy Bottom Farm