Something better than civilization...
... is waiting for us.
We encourage you to learn as much and as quick as you can about next culture. More information is available than you might imagine in websites, books, articles, and videos.
Much information focuses on what is failing in the capitalist patriarchal empire. This information is certainly important, yet after waking up from denial you might be tempted to center your activity on petitioning the powers-that-be to change their minds.
However, it is quite unlikely that we would get to Plan B by trying to repair Plan A. Sustainability and unsustainability have entirely different intentions. Since when has the patriarchy been known to teach how to reinvent the patriarchy?
Let us leave Plan A alone and go directly to implementing Plan B.
As Daniel Quinn says “There is something better than civilization waiting for us.”
We call it next culture.
To proceed from here you might consider viewing a couple documentaries and reading a few books from those listed below.
Documentaries
Ancient Futures: learning from Ladakh, an amazing and touching award-winning video based on Helena Norberg-Hodge's book, with live footage from Ladakh, also available in German.
http://www.isec.org.uk/pages/av.html
Garbage Warrior, about Michael Reynolds’ commitment to elegant passive-solar home designs built out of recycled materials.
www.garbagewarrior.com
The Solar Power Village and the Idea of a Global Campus. This project has now been realized.
www.tamera.org
The Turning Point: a return to community, an inspiring look at some sustainable solutions, featuring Richard Heinberg, Rob Hopkins, Joanna Macy, and Megan Quinn Bachman.
http://www.theturningpointfilm.com
Transition Towns on TED talks, with Rob Hopkins, originator of the global Transition Town movement.
http://www.ted.com/talks/rob_hopkins_transition_to_a_world_without_oil.html
Books
- Beyond You and Me: inspirations and wisdom for building community, by Kosha Anja Joubert and Robin Alfred
http://www.gaiaeducation.org/docs/Beyond%20You%20&%20Me%20Ebook.pdf
- Choice Theory: a new psychology of personal freedom, by William Glasser.
www.wglasser.com
- Coming Back to Life: practices to reconnect our lives, our world, by Joanna Macy
www.joannamacy.net
- Community: the structure of belonging, by Peter Block
www.peterblock.com
- Creating: a guide to the creative process, by Robert Fritz.
www.robertfritz.com
- Directing the Power of Conscious Feelings: living your own truth, by Clinton Callahan.
www.clintoncallahan.com
- Ecovillage Living: restoring the Earth and her people, by Hildur Jackson and Karen Svensson.
www.greenbooks.co.uk
- Island by Aldous Huxley
http://www.amazon.com/Island-P-S-Aldous-Huxley/dp/0061561797/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281368394&sr=1-1 - Of Water and Spirit: ritual, magic, and initiation in the life of an African Shaman, by Malidoma Patrice Somé.
www.malidoma.com
- Original Wisdom: stories of an ancient way of knowing, by Robert Wolff.
www.wildwolff.com
- Radical Honesty: how to transform your life by telling the truth, by Brad Blanton.
www.radicalhonesty.com
- Sacred Demise: walking the spiritual path of industrial civilization’s collapse, by Carolyn Baker.
www.carolynbaker.net
- Self Observation: the awakening of conscience, an owner’s manual, by Red Hawk.
www.hohmpress.com
- The Alchemy of Transformation, by Lee Lozowick.
http://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Transformation-Lee-Lozowick/dp/0934252629/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277913363&sr=8-1
- The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You by Dorothy Bryant
- The Transition Handbook: from oil dependency to local resilience, by Rob Hopkins.
www.transitionnetwork.org, www.transitionculture.org
- Turning to One Another: simple conversations to restore hope to the future, by Margaret J. Wheatley.
www.margaretwheatley.com
- Watch the North Wind Rise by Robert Graves
… and further information
There are so many more next-culture resources…
To continue exploring you might wish to surf through www.nextcultures.info, with its many pages and further links. Like next cultures do, the Next Cultures Info website continuously evolves, yet it already offers a vast richness of insight, inspiration and possibility. Enjoy!
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