The Myths That Rule Us

It was actually Daniel Pinchbeck — an author best known for his writings on psychedelics, spirituality, culture, and prophecy — who helped me realize the scope of the climate crisis. A rare voice of grounded pragmatism in the new age spiritual scene, he relentlessly researched the climate crisis and explored innovative ideas on how we can restructure our systems to avoid the coming catastrophes.

This was the basis of his 2017 book How Soon Is Now: From Personal Initiation to Global Transformation. I bought this book the day it was released and loved it, hoping it would inspire meaningful change. Unfortunately the masses weren’t so receptive, as many mainstream outlets refused to review it because it didn’t fit neatly into traditional book categories (and also likely because it is sounding the alarm on an issue most people would rather not think about).

Nate Hagens also has a compelling thesis about our growth being tied to energy surplus, and that we are heading toward a major reorganization due to the unsustainable and temporary nature of our current growth-based system, which has been propped up by cheap fossil fuel energy. He has a fantastic podcast called The Great Simplification that explores environmental, social, and global issues in depth. Hagens makes a compelling argument for the our predicament in this 45 min talk (also here’s a 4 min summary of his thesis, and here’s a 32 min video giving a more thorough overview of his argument, but I find that the 45 min talk linked presents more compelling data to back up his thesis).

People ask why these billionaires need to keep accumulating wealth when they have more than they could ever spend? It’s not about having what they need, they are hooked on the high of power, and life becomes one big power game.

Carl Jung had a hot take on this:

"Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other."

When I truly align with the good, when I resist excessive selfishness and act with kindness and compassion, I feel aligned with my values and this gives way to a sense of integrity. I’ve come to learn that there is in fact no better feeling than that — to simply know that one is doing the right thing for the collective good. To know that one’s actions are aligned with compassion for all beings

The conflict and violence we are seeing today is disheartening but try not to get overwhelmed by the scale of the issues we face, as that doesn't do anyone any good, and instead focus on the areas you have impact. Look for ways to practice kindness and compassion, as even the smallest acts of genuine care ripple outward and inward in ways we may never fully comprehend.