Society
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Culture as the Ego of a Society
Clifford Geertz, the founder of interpretive anthropology, once described culture as: ‘Believing, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive…
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The Leaders of Tomorrow
455 Words As people in Western societies are increasingly exposed to, and experimenting with, what William James, Aldous Huxley, and Houston Smith called ‘mystical empiricism’ — direct-knowledge methodologies such as meditation, holotropic breathwork, and the mindful use of psychedelics and plant medicines — I believe it is likely that the values arising from these experiences,…
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The Trillionaire as a Cultural Failure
A couple of days ago I read the news that a person well known to the West is now a trillionaire. At first, this filled me with sadness, and I found myself thinking that this is a failure of our species. Soon, however, I corrected myself by remembering that this is not really the case.…
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Spiritopia
I often think about what the world would look like if our societies were focused on exploring the mystery of existence instead of their ideological ideas of progress or whatever it is that they pursue. Can you imagine? Imagine what it would be like to live in a world where our scientific method was free…
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Trauma Healing and Structural Change in Social Action
I have been working with value-based organisations (advocacy and campaigning, sustainability and/or international development) for a few years now. During this time, when discussing social issues, I often found the following 2 attitudes in people: The first is the one I have come across most often. It seems that this attitude is related to the…
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Precepts
These precepts emerged from those rare exchanges where two people attempt to speak honestly about what they’ve glimpsed of truth. They aren’t rules for a specific community or partnership, but guidelines I’ve found important for any conversation that aims beyond mere intellectual exchange toward genuine transformation. 16/01/2015