Watch now on YouTube.Entangled World explores the interrelated, existential social, economic, ecological, and technological risks we face, their underlying drivers, and how a more beautiful world might emerge.In this episode, I am joined by Samantha Sweetwater, an author, thought leader, ceremonial guide, educator, and executive coach. For over 30 years, Samantha has facilitated individual and group transformational experiences in diverse communities, cultures, and industries on five continents. Her work leading conversations about our relationship with the Earth, spirituality, and systems change is transforming the way we think about what it means to be human.Samantha highlights that separation from the Earth that we are nested inside of has been our human predicament and that the next stage of evolution looks like a conscious reunion that organizes towards a purpose to co-harmonize and create abundance for all beings within the biosphere.We also discuss the metacrisis, that we're reaching existential tipping points we've never reached before at a planetary scale. Samantha imagines a vision 300 years into the future where we’ve managed to co-orchestrate, through climate catastrophe, through the migration of billions of people, through massive cycles of famine and disease, a more regenerative way to live in harmony with all life.Samantha’s divine feminine wisdom offers a perspective that is urgently needed as our world undergoes a profound phase shift.Whether this episode is new to you or a chance to revisit it, I hope her words provide space for reflection and inspiration as we step into a new year. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit najialupson.substack.com

Watch now on YouTube. Entangled World explores the interrelated, existential social, economic, ecological, and technological risks we face, their underlying drivers, and how a more beautiful world might emerge. In this episode, I’m joined by Alex Randall from the Civilization Research Institute to discuss Development in Progress, a recent paper released by The Consilience Project, an initiative of the Civilization Research Institute. I highly recommend taking the time to read it—this paper sheds new light on the widely accepted progress narrative, the idea that technological innovation, markets, and institutions have unambiguously improved our quality of life. While modernity has undeniably brought many benefits, such as medical advancements and technologies that connect us globally, this paper challenges us to question the costs of progress as we define it today. It argues that the overlooked side effects of our pursuit of progress have accumulated to a point where they now pose existential risks to life on our planet.The good news is that there are relatively simple ways we can start making changes that reduce these downsides. Alex emphasizes that progress itself isn’t inherently harmful, but by expanding our view of what progress encompasses, we can better recognize and address its unintended consequences.We delve into some innovative frameworks developed by the Civilization Research Institute, like prudent problem-solving and yellow teaming—approaches that can immediately enhance how we take meaningful action in both our organizations and our personal lives.For those of you who understand the metacrisis and are eager to know how you can make a difference, this episode is especially exciting! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit najialupson.substack.com

Dr. Elizabeth Sawin, Director of the Multisolving Institute, is a leader in addressing interconnected global issues like climate change and equity. She shares her innovative 'multisolving' approach, which fosters collaboration among diverse sectors to achieve holistic solutions. Elizabeth highlights real-world examples, such as uniting asthma advocates with environmentalists, showcasing how integrated actions can enhance community resilience. She emphasizes the need for a worldview shift and grassroots efforts to create a sustainable and equitable future.

Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti, an author renowned for her insights on social and ecological issues, delves into the complexities of modernity and relational thinking. She discusses the need for emotional maturity and how narrow thinking hinders our ability to engage with crises. Highlighting her experiences in Brazil and with Indigenous communities, she urges a shift from growth-driven paradigms to a more integrated approach to wisdom. The conversation touches on the neurobiological impacts of modernity, advocating for deeper connections with nature and each other.

Watch now on YouTube.Today on the podcast, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of speaking with Fritjof Capra. Fritjof is the lead teacher of the Capra Course and Systems View LAB. Fritjof is a scientist, educator, and activist who has written and lectured extensively about the philosophical and social implications of modern science. He was a founding director (1995-2020) of the Berkeley-based Center for Ecoliteracy and serves on the faculty of the Amana-Key executive education program in São Paulo, Brazil. He is a Fellow of Schumacher College and serves on the Council of Earth Charter International.He is also the author of several international bestsellers. including The Tao of Physics (1975), The Turning Point (1982), and The Web of Life (1996). He is coauthor of the multidisciplinary textbook The Systems View of Life (2014).Fritjof is the rare person who has engaged in not only a tremendous amount of research, theory and writing, but also actuation in the world through his activism and bringing ecology education into public schools.In this episode, Fritjof talks about 4 key principles that summarize the culmination of his life’s work and what he calls the “systems view of life”:Life organizes itself in networks of processes (chemical, biological, communications, etc.).Life is inherently regenerative down to the molecular level.Life is inherently creative.Life is inherently intelligent.We discuss how the mechanistic worldview which originated from Renee Descartes who viewed the mind (which he called the “thinking” thing) as separate from matter (which he called the “extended” thing) and which has been the dominant worldview is now finally being upended by a network-based worldview. The network worldview acknowledges that all of life is interconnected, co-evolving and complex and therefore cannot be controlled.We explore how the mechanistic worldview is still espoused by many technologists leading AI development who view intelligence as solely residing in the brain, discounting the embodied, felt ways of knowing that reside in the body.Ultimately, we discuss the importance of putting life at the center of everything we do, of everything that is worth doing in this time of metacrisis. Fritjof’s Links:https://www.fritjofcapra.net/https://www.capracourse.net/ (Fall 2024 course starting Sept. 18, 2024) Other Resources Mentioned:Robert ReichOwning Our Future by Marjorie KellyEntangled Life by Merlin SheldrakeWhen Corporations Rule the World by David KortenEcological Civilization: From Emergency to Emergence by David KortenThe Social Dilemma by the Center for Humane TechnologyThe AI Dilemma by the Center Humane Technology  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit najialupson.substack.com

Watch it now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKcb4D7qEfUMy guest today is Schuyler Brown. Schuyler is a strategist, futurist, facilitator, and coach. She founded The Art of Emergence and her gifts include executive coaching, corporate shamanism, navigating spiritual awakening and crises, and hosting online and in-person retreats centered around embodiment, emotional intelligence, and leading from the heart. She has a rich history as a futurist and is sought out for her intuitive and empathic gifts and her ability to guide people into opening into their own full potential. In this episode, Schuyler and I talk about the relational aspect of living in a time of metacrisis, the balance of masculine and feminine energies, the impacts of generational trauma, and the role non-human consciousness can play in our journeys. We talk about how the important emotional content of our lives is often ignored in our existing systems, partly because it’s inefficient and messy. We explore how even amongst people working to address the metacrisis, there’s an extreme focus on productivity, efficiency, speed, and results, and with good reason, you only have to open your eyes to see the many entangled, existential crises we face. But we also need to feel the pain, it cannot just be an intellectual exercise. Emotions aren’t a distraction, they’re useful bits of information meant to guide our actions. To actually feel them helps us to know what to do about our current predicament.We talk about how humanity’s survival is not guaranteed and how that means we are in a time we’re each one of us that’s alive today, young or old has a deep responsibility to current and future generations of all human and non-human life on this planet to do whatever they are able to shift our trajectory. How do we walk through this world as ensouled beings and simultaneously create “heaven on Earth”? We end our conversation discussing how it’s only non-human sentience that can see humanity’s blind spots. In the upcoming weeks, how can YOU listen to the non-human world? What messages are meant to be coming through to you and uniquely only you? What are you meant to do at this time? What are you meant to sense into, not intellectually figure out?00:00 Introduction to Entangled World01:37 Meet Schuyler: A Journey of Self-Discovery09:51 Exploring the Metacrisis24:07 Parenting in the Age of the Metacrisis36:34 The Role of Trauma in the Metacrisis45:05 Challenges of Addressing the Metacrisis in Organizations49:58 Standing Outside the System51:15 The Trap of Power and Status52:39 Partnership Societies and Feminine Principles54:42 Creating Balanced Organizations56:31 The Sacred in Group Dynamics59:33 The Dance of Masculine and Feminine01:08:34 The Concept of Time and Urgency01:24:21 Communion with Nature01:30:53 Closing Reflections and Future GuestsSchuyler’s Links & Resources:The Art of EmergenceSchuyler’s SubstackTenacious Magic, Schuyler Brown (being readied for publication)Other Resources Mentioned:The Emerald podcast, Joshua Schrei, For the Intuitives episodesBonnitta RoyEntangled World explores our greatest, interrelated social, economic, ecological, and technological global challenges, their underlying drivers, and how a more beautiful world might emerge.Entangled World is a labor of love, I couldn’t keep this podcast going without the generosity of my listeners and fans. Please consider making a donation at patreon.com/entangledworld. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit najialupson.substack.com

Watch the video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IsZaVuRktXY My guest today is Olivia Lazard. Olivia is a research fellow at Carnegie Europe where her research involves investigating how to support a move towards regenerative foreign and security policy within the European Union. She also leads projects at the University of Exeter on the ecological costs of the energy transition. Essentially, Olivia works on the geopolitics of climate-disrupted futures and ecological breakdown. With a background in conflict resolution, and deep field experience in some of the world's most fragile contexts, she now focuses on preventing and mitigating the risks associated with a global competition over specific renewable and non-renewable resources. Her work tackles the decarbonisation-regeneration nexus, the core pillar for the future of global security and peace.In this conversation, Olivia and I discuss the major “blind spots” of the energy transition and how competitive resource extraction is likely to lead to conflict, violence, ecological destabilization, and the dangerous potential of simultaneously compromising multiple major ecosystems for the sake of resource extraction. She describes how COVID and the Ukraine War revealed some important vulnerabilities in our interconnected systems and how resources can be powerfully weaponized by those who control them. She puts the Ukraine-Russia conflict in context as part of a larger story that has major implications for the future; a possible future in which Russia may be able to use its control over energy, critical minerals, agriculture, and other natural resources to threaten the stability of other increasingly dependent, destabilized nations.We also talk about how China has perfected the verticalization of supply chains for several critical minerals needed for the advanced tech revolution, particularly the development of AI. China has become not only an industrial heavyweight leading in manufacturing but also a technological heavyweight, which has massive geopolitical implications for the global balance of power We explore the rationality behind different realms of human conquest throughout history, from colonialism to the nuclear age, highlighting how these revolutions came about in response to needs and threats in key historical moments. We discuss historical cycles of attempts to control, extract, expand, and conquer, and the resulting long-term consequences. In other words, how our current problem-solving approaches works to solve narrow goals while externalizing harm in other places. Olivia shares about her experience staying with an Indigenous community in the Amazon during which she had a profound spiritual experience in which she felt more connected to the natural world than she had ever felt before and it completely shifted how she thought about her place in the world. We end the conversation talking about how in reality, we are not separate from nature and to understand that is to come to view ourselves and the world in all its holistic beauty.Olivia Lazard’s Links & Resources:https://carnegieendowment.org/people/olivia-lazard?lang=enThe Blind Spots of the Green Energy Transition | Olivia Lazard | TEDhttps://www.iwm.at/europes-futures/fellow/olivia-lazardhttps://x.com/OliviaLazard?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthorhttps://muckrack.com/olivia-lazard/articlesOther Resources Mentioned:Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery The Human Planet: How We Created The Anthropocene by Simon L. Lewis and Mark A. MaslinStockholm Impact Week (Olivia’s talk and others)Benchmark MineralsJames Dyke (tipping points research and more)International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Emily Robinson, PhD Researcher in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, University of ExeterThe European Green Deal This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit najialupson.substack.com

Dr. Nate Hagens discusses our unsustainable energy consumption, the climate crisis, and the challenges of transitioning to renewable energy. He highlights the environmental and human costs of extracting minerals for technology. Nate emphasizes the need for a cultural shift to align technological advancements with sustainability and reevaluate societal values for a more balanced future.

Indy Rishi Singh, a cultural creative, discusses his journey from medical school to exploring ancient healing practices like Ayurveda. He highlights the lack of integration of perspectives in traditional systems and the importance of diverse approaches in addressing global crises. Singh also delves into the concept of abundance in indigenous cultures, the significance of civic engagement, and the potential for transformative collaborations in economics and healthcare systems.

Phoebe Tickell discusses imagination activism, perception shifts, and radical systems change. She emphasizes the transformative power of imagination and redefining the good life. The episode explores multispecies governance practices, heritage, moral imagination, and underrepresented voices in various fields.