Marion Group Expands Vision of the World
May 23, 2003 | Sunday Standard-Times | Marsha McCabe

Michael and Margie Baldwin of Marion had no idea what they were getting into 12 years ago when they invited friends and neighbors to a weekend conference on "crop circles" and "sacred geometry." Not your everyday conventional subjects.

"We thought of it like an English country weekend," said Margie. To their surprise, nearly 50 people showed and they ended up bunking all over town. Today the Baldwins can't quite believe that their casual weekend has grown into the well-respected Marion Institute with offices, employees and a mission: Examine yourself. Connect with others. Do.

Obviously, there's a lot of interest in expanding our vision of the world.

In the old days, Michael worked on Wall Street and life was in the fast lane. In pursuit of a more meaningful life, the family turned to the Wareham area where Michael spent his summers as a child. It proved to be a good choice.

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," said Henry David Thoreau, and the Baldwins would agree. As we grow up, we are force-fed other people's religion, politics and ideas. Rarely do we examine who we really are, or arrive at a belief system that is authentically ours. We end up in a spiritual void.

"At the Institute, we try to seek and change," said Margie. "We don't have final answers, just questions."

"It's about exploring the consciousness," Michael adds.

The Marion Institute looks at the world within and without. It sponsors lectures, workshops and cutting-edge thinkers. It's for the reader of "The Da Vinci Code" and those interested in healing. It's for those concerned about the environment and socially responsible investing. It's for those who want to transform the world -- beginning with themselves.

"When Michael learns about something, he likes to share it. He's a wonderful connector of people to ideas," said Margie.

This is how one conference led to another. The English country weekends got bigger. And the Baldwins began calling in well-known speakers like Dr. Christine Northrup, the Rev. Matthew Fox and author/entrepreneur Paul Harken.

In time, the group clearly needed a more formal structure; supporters and the community responded generously to their fund-raising efforts. The Marion Institute [formerly the Marion Foundation] was born in 1994. Today, the institute has about 600 members - and is eager to reach out to others. Many hands make the group work.
 
"We particularly need to connect with the young," says Michael. "I have such a sense of urgency about the environment. We have become numb to the crisis. The world can't sustain unlimited growth. Maybe we need to feel it with the heart, not just the head."

The Institute has four programs of concentrated interest: The Explorers Circle sets up lectures and workshops; it looks for new voices, books, thinkers. The Metahistory network is about examining your life and finding your own path. Once you find it, what do you do on Monday morning? The Biological Medicine network focuses on a holistic approach to healing and the inter-connection of mind, body, spirit.

"So much of this world is about suffering," said Michael, "and so much energy is used to avoid it. But there's another way. You can look at suffering directly and explore it."

"Socially Responsible Investing is the fourth program," says Michael, who's in the investment business himself. The Institute is supporting a project in which 700 mutual funds are being screened for authenticity.

There you have it. Many paths, one horizon.

The Marion Institute, a non-profit, is located in leafy surroundings in the former Sippican complex, 3 Barnabas Road, Marion. Kim Tirrell is executive director. For more information, call 508.748.0816 and stay tune for their new Web site, which will be launched soon: www.marioninstitute.org.

Marsha McCabe is a columnist for The Sunday Standard-Times.