Thank you, Indy! As someone whose work has “hosting” at its core, I feel duly provoked. I have often struggled to get past the pattern of “simulated manifestation” that produces what you aptly label as a “strange theatre of emergence.” I also appreciate your acknowledging that “not every space is a space of manifestation” and that many other kinds of spaces have value and should not be “forced into productivity.” At the same time, I’m not convinced that asking “what is trying to become real here?” followed by “who is willing to carry it?” is sufficient for moving beyond that "strange theatre."

I steward two groups that use the “ecosystem” metaphor, so I love that you speak of “conjuring of a manifestation ecology.” And I note a disconnect between that metaphor and your assertion that “to conjure is to participate in the difficult passage by which the not-yet-real acquires a body.” Elsewhere, you speak of the need for “a carrier [which] may be a person, a collective, a place, an institution, a fund, a civic body, a movement, a lab, a covenant, or a coalition.” Yet, , unlike complex ecosystems such as forests, these are single, discrete things with clear boundaries (with the possible exception of a “movement”).

If the transformation we seek requires shifting our focus from creating objects to seeing ourselves as entangled subjects--a shift from nouns to verbs and from building structures and frameworks to learning how, as Vanessa Andreotti suggests, to relate more deeply and more widely-- then perhaps the idea of “acquiring a body” (or building a furnace to contain the fire) traps us in the same paradigm we seek to transcend.

Furthermore, even if we accept that manifestation requires the building of “things,” given the collapsing, VUCA nature of these times, we may not get very far as hosts by asking "what is trying to become real?" at the starting point of our convenings. There is so much overwhelm and so little clarity about what is possible and/or what will make a difference. And there is so much to unlearn if we are to build something without using "the master’s tools." You've written extensively, Indy, about the importance of embracing uncertainty. If hosting manifestation ecologies requires an upfront level of clarity about what is possible in order to generate collective commitment, then it's no wonder we are not seeing more of it. It’s a Catch-22.

Or maybe it’s a Zen koan. What if those other kinds of spaces that you named----those for grieving, study, companionship, healing, witnessing, etc.-- are actually our best doorways into manifestation, but only if we show up for the sake of those purposes and let go of our intention to build something that will change the future?!