We all know about accelerating climate change, failing democracy, endemic racism and other dire global news. Should we have hope? Should we be in despair? What, in fact, should we do? How can we respond in ways that make us feel we are taking care of ourselves while actually helping the world? That is the subject of a workshop on Spiritual Activism I’m co-leading with Lama Willa Miller at the Garrison Institute this September. You should come!
No Longer Relevant
Ambiguity Is The Engine
There is a lot of ambiguity in the air. The election results. Concern about our own lives. The climate. The state of the world in general. The changing economy. The replacement of jobs by freelance work. Don’t try to escape ambiguity by making up stories; escape your ambiguity by taking actions towards a vision for a better life and world.
Detoxing Your Life from The OUTside In
I am teaching a five-week course and giving an introductory talk on the topic of this blog post–details below. You certainly don’t need to attend the course to find the ideas in this blog post helpful though. Victor Frankl famously wrote “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear with almost any ‘how.’” One reason why the […]
What I have to remember
Yesterday, President Obama, speaking in Tucson, Arizona in the wake of the recent shootings, said: “At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we […]
One American’s effort to bond over our shared concerns intead of fighting over our differences
I've been worried for a long time that the entire world is held up in solving its problems by the division in the American political system. It's the Republicans' fault. No, it's the Democrats' fault. No, it's the Republicans' fault. No, it's the Democrats' fault. No, it's the Republicans' fault. No, it's the Democrats' fault. […]
Reuse by having community “free stores”
It saves resources, saves money, and builds community. What I like about this kind of thing is that any of us can start it anywhere at any time without going through any of the existing power structures–corporations, non-profits, government. It's pure citizen action that is both better for the people and better for the planet: […]
Eco groups! Wanna screen No Impact Man on Earth Week?
Stephanie, my colleague at the No Impact Project, asked me to draw your attention to the fact that we are having a screening series of No Impact Man during Earth Week in April. The idea is to bring people together to watch the movie–call it candy–and then to get them to take environmental action–call it […]
Your own pesonal No Impact week with No Impact Man himself (that’s me)
Perhaps you know that the No Impact Project, my non-profit effort, has been developing a series of programs to help people discover lifestyle adaptations that are both better for them and the planet. One of the programs is called No Impact Week. You may remember that we ran a virtual version online in collaboration with […]