Lately - and reluctantly - I've been thinking less about revolution and more about survival. So taking it as read that:

a) about a dozen distinct ecological limits are bearing down like trains to crash into our near future - for the gloomiest assessment google climate scientist Guy McPherson;

b) political systems in most countries are hopelessly locked up by the ultra-rich and are only accelerating everyone into the crash zone;

It follows that in the next years and decades we are in for a lot of social stresses, followed by social collapses of various sorts, and, at worst, human extinction. This is a 'topic' (is it just a 'topic'??) which has come up a few times on the Nexus, but I'm hoping there might be people who have some specific ideas they want to share.

Psychonaughts of a spiritual bent often talk about raising consciousness one person at a time, about a critical mass of turned on people, etc. Great as this is, it's not going to cut it.

So... could the plant teachers play a sacramental role in (non-indigenous) communities that are working on local and regional energy self-reliance and permaculture, or even help monkey wrench gangs and urban resistance groups? Are there already examples of such ritual uses? Or are we confined to friends getting together for a smoalk and aya healing circles for people who head back to their dispersed lives?

Is this really what it means to explore the true potential of the plants??

We know that most initiatives for alternative ways of living never get past the dreaming board, perhaps due to egoic conflicts and people's continuing economic and psychological dependence on the mainstream. Might the plants provide a ritual space for reconfirming deep spiritual solidarity in the face of the storm? Could those who are already well versed in hyperspace step up to the plate with a new kind of teacher training module for embattled organisations?

Or are there good reasons such ideas are unrealistic? Other pros... and cons... of the plants for transition communities, for political collectives, for egalitarian survivalists?

Abrazos,

Chadaev

I have been thinking recently about how, just like in the life of an addict some years or months must be set aside for recovery of the body, our planet must set aside a few decades or even generations of human life to recover its ecosystem.

Before we aspire to greater heights we must first take some time to backtrack, rethink alot of our motives and actions, and then put some healing into action upon the planet.

The only way I could see people giving up their lives or the lives of their children for the recovery of the planet is in some kind of critical mass of enlightenment, which seems unlikely without a massive spreading of entheogenic medicines.

Cool topic!

Provocative analogy. Something like that is I guess what we can hope for. A healing crisis. A death and rebirth.



In my view giving up our lives or childrens' lives is not necessary, nor would entheogens be capable of extracting such a sacrifice. It is the collapses themselves which will force 'sacrifice' upon us.



Seriously? You must be a cooler customer than me...