The new Joker film with Joaquin Phoenix is an extremely timely and relevant commentary on what is happening in the Western world right now. From the mass shootings and the epidemic of mental illness to the grief and anger that people are feeling in the climate change protests, the film is symbolic of many patterns emerging in modern society. In many ways, the film is a warning. We wanted to do a commentary on what can be done about the feelings and patterns of behaviour illustrated in the film, and what we can do about them on an individual and societal level. Show notes: http://www.futurethinkers.org/108  Learn how to thrive in this fast changing world. Sign up for our mailing list and get the 50+ page guide: http://futurethinkers.org/signup  Upgrade your mental operating system, increase personal sovereignty and gain deeper self-knowledge with our Courses in Personal Evolution. Register at http://courses.futurethinkers.org 

In Part 2 of our interview with Nora Bateson, an award-winning filmmaker, writer, educator, and the President of the International Bateson Institute, we continue our discussion on sense-making, on order and chaos, complex systems and cultures, and what we really need for social and cultural change. Nora comes from a family lineage of complexity thinkers - her father was the systems theorist Gregory Bateson and her grandfather was the biologist William Bateson, who coined the term genetics. Nora’s book Small Arcs of Larger Circles came out in 2016, and she is currently working on her next book about Warm Data, or the interrelational processes between and among systems. Her work brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology of living systems. To check out the show notes for both parts of the interview, go to  http://www.futurethinkers.org/106  Learn how to thrive in this fast changing world. Sign up for our mailing list and get the 50+ page guide: http://futurethinkers.org/signup  Upgrade your mental operating system, increase personal sovereignty and gain deeper self-knowledge with our Courses in Personal Evolution. Register at http://courses.futurethinkers.org 

Our guest in the following two episodes is Nora Bateson, an award-winning filmmaker, writer, educator, and the President of the International Bateson Institute. Nora comes from a family lineage of complexity thinkers - her father was the systems theorist Gregory Bateson and her grandfather was the biologist William Bateson, who coined the term genetics. Nora’s book Small Arcs of Larger Circles came out in 2016, and she is currently working on her next book about Warm Data, or the interrelational processes between and among systems. Her work brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology of living systems. In part 1 of this interview, we discuss the complexity of understanding climate change, and why sense-making isn't common sense. Show notes: http://www.futurethinkers.org/106  Learn how to thrive in this fast changing world. Sign up for our mailing list and get the 50+ page guide: http://futurethinkers.org/signup  Upgrade your mental operating system, increase personal sovereignty and gain deeper self-knowledge with our Courses in Personal Evolution. Register at http://courses.futurethinkers.org 

Today on the show we have Jim Rutt, complexity researcher, systems thinker, podcaster, and former key player in several technology companies. Jim was previously the chairman of the Santa Fe Institute, where he has been involved since 2002, working in the scientific study of consciousness and evolutionary artificial intelligence. He is also one of the thinkers behind BigChainDB, the blockchain architecture startup. In this episode we talk about the concept of Game B, what it is and how it emerged, the idea of network attractors in complex systems like human society, and how to prepare for potential collapse scenarios in the future. Show notes: http://www.futurethinkers.org/105 Learn how to thrive in this fast changing world. Sign up for our mailing list and get the 50+ page guide: http://futurethinkers.org/signup  Upgrade your mental operating system, increase personal sovereignty and gain deeper self-knowledge with our Courses in Personal Evolution. Register at http://courses.futurethinkers.org   

We’ve been diving deep into several projects lately - growing our courses, designing a brand new meditation app, starting the global Future Thinkers meetup initiative, and brainstorming the creation of an in-person retreat center for exploring the ideas and practices we talk about on the podcast and in our courses. In this episode we discuss our vision for this retreat center, why we want to create it, and what we want to do there. This is still in a very early stage and a work in progress. We want to share our intention and invite you to collaborate with us on this idea if you feel inspired by it. Show notes: http://www.futurethinkers.org/104 Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: See the current vision for the retreat center - http://www.futurethinkers.org/retreat New meditation app design - http://www.futurethinkers.org/app Apply for hosting a Future Thinkers meetup in your city - http://www.futurethinkers.org/meetups Courses in Personal Evolution - http://courses.futurethinkers.org Become a Patreon and join new Patron-only monthly video calls - http://www.patreon.com/futurethinkers   Learn how to thrive in this fast changing world. Sign up for our mailing list and get the 50+ page guide: http://futurethinkers.org/signup Register today for A Course in Personal Evolution - Adapting age-old wisdom for a modern life of purpose and meaning: http://courses.futurethinkers.org  Registration closes on August 31st!  

In Part 2 of our interview with author, podcaster and healing practitioner Cris Beasley, we talk about the role of emotional health in society and why it is crucial for gaining self-sovereignty, as well as the current position of mainstream science on energy work and healing practices. Show notes and Part 1: http://www.futurethinkers.org/103 Sign up for A Course in Personal Evolution - Registration closes on July 31! More info: http://courses.futurethinkers.org     

Our guest in the following two episodes is Cris Beasley, an author, podcaster, ex AI startup founder and healing practitioner who created the Love Lock card deck to help people explore and work with difficult emotions. We asked Cris some of the questions that we often get from our listeners and course participants: how to access the repressed emotions in the body, what are some of the helpful techniques and tools to do it, and how to integrate these emotions into our lives in a healthy way. This episode is in two parts. In Part 1 we talk about the most common 4 emotional responses in difficult situations, the transformative power of breath work, and other tools to access difficult emotions.  In Part 2 we will talk about the role of emotional health in society and why it is crucial for gaining self-sovereignty, as well as the current position of mainstream science on energy work and healing practices. Show notes: http://www.futurethinkers.org/102  To learn how to thrive in this fast changing world, sign up for our mailing list and get the 50+ page guide: http://futurethinkers.org/signup REGISTRATION OPEN UNTIL JULY 31: A Course in Personal Evolution Adapting age-old wisdom for a modern life of purpose and meaning: http://courses.futurethinkers.org

We had a roundtable style discussion with David Fuller and Alexander Beiner from Rebel Wisdom about the Intellectual Dark Web, where that conversation is heading, the emergence of the Intellectual Deep Web, and how to find cohesion and unity in a decentralized world. Show notes: http://www.futurethinkers.org/101 To learn how to adapt to our uncertain future, sign up for our mailing list and get the 50+ page guide: http://futurethinkers.org/signup Check out the Course in Personal Evolution: http://courses.futurethinkers.org   

Jamie Wheal discusses navigating the complexities of a rapidly evolving world, exploring societal challenges, and the shift towards mainstream awareness. The conversation touches on cultic tendencies in communities, the influence of the Iroquois Confederacy, and the importance of embracing wisdom in everyday life.

John Vervaeke is a lecturer at the University of Toronto and author of Awakening From The Meaning Crisis lecture series on YouTube. In Part 2 of our interview we talk further about self-transformation, transcendence and strategies for creating meaning.  Show notes: http://www.futurethinkers.org/99  Part 1 of the interview: http://www.futurethinkers.org/98  Take the Future Thinkers Course in Personal Evolution - designed to help you create a life of meaning, purpose and impact: http://courses.futurethinkers.org  Registration closes on June 30th!