Accidental Gods

The world is not as it was. Every one of us is touched by this. We are a global community now, striving to find sovereignty, balance - and a way forward that is healing for us all. In this podcast, Manda Scott explores the routes to inner resilience, without which, there can be no outer coherence. Joanna Macy calls this the Great Unravelling - a time when everything changes.  And we are human, so most of us live somewhere on the spectrum between finding change unsettling, to finding it genuinely terrifying.  Where we are on that scale is often dictated by our inner resilience: our ability to return to inner stability after a destabilising shock.  So just now, when the shocks are coming daily, our ability to find resilience is critical.  In this podcast, we explore some of the ways we can return to a place of inner wholeness, of balance, from which we can generate the courage, clarity, connection and compassion we'll need to flourish in a world of uncertainty. 

 Daniel Thorson, host of the ground-breaking, innovative - and hugely courageous - Emerge podcast is a Buddhist monastic, activist and meta-modern thinker.  In this conversation, we dive deeply into what it means to be human - and how we can live as the best of ourselves. The Emerge podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in exploring human potential as we surge into the anthropocene.  Its host, Daniel Thorson is fearless in exploring the ways we can evolve, interviewing thought-leaders in the fields of psychology, philosophy, spirituality - all individuals engaged in finding ways we can become the best of ourselves - and better.   A former activist/organiser at Occupy Wall Street, Daniel has spent tens of thousands of hours in meditation, and almost as many thinking deeply about the ways we can move forward in the heart of the Anthropocene. In this conversation, we have the opportunity to join his enquiry, to find out where his work has taken him, to dive deeply into what it means to be alive now, and the ways we can move forwards as individuals and as a collective. His suggested must-read book is The OverStory by Richard PowersHis suggested listening, is/are Rob Burbea's Dharma Talks And the Emerge podcast website is hereHappy listening!As ever, if you want to connect with us, we're at Accidental Gods. 

Rabbi Jill Hammer is committed to an earth based and a wildly mythic view of the world in which nature, ritual and story connect us to the body of the cosmos and to ourselves. In this conversation, we dive deep into the meaning of life, the role of dreams in a spiritual life and how we might find hope in the face of climate breakdown.   Jill is an author, midrashist, mystic, poet, essayist and Hebrew Priestess. Director of spiritual education at the academy of Jewish Religion in New York and co-founder of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute.  She is committed to an earth based and a wildly mythic view of the world in which nature, ritual and story connect us to the body of the cosmos and to ourselves - she has been called 'a Jewish Bard'.  In this episode, we explore some of her extraordinary life, and how her Jewish roots have led her to explore the gendered nature of Divinity, the Kabbalah, and how to interpret dreams in a way that is at once thoroughly modern and absolutely ancient.  Links: Rabbi Jill HarmerThe Kohenet Hebrew Priestess InstituteThe Academy of Jewish Religion

If, as philosopher, Green party activist, University Professor and XR activist, Rupert Read is right, our civilisation is finished.  We'll either collapse, or transform to the point of being unrecognisable.  So... this being the case, what can we do?  Rupert Read is one of our generation's greatest, and deepest green thinkers. Join us in this discussion of how we can move forward.   Rupert Read is convinced that societal collapse is inevitable - and near.  And that this is White Swan effect - it's not remotely surprising or coming out of left field.  So this being the case, we need to act - we have a choice between crashing into extinction OR moving forward to a transformation of our culture and society so profound that what transpires bears no resemblance to the current society. Given that this is the case, what can we do?  In this lively, dynamic conversation with Rupert Rea, we delve into the topic of Deep Adaptation, Transformative Adaptation and the various routes to a different future.  We explore the routes Extinction Rebellion could take to avoid 'rushing the rebellion' and look forward at ways we could craft the world we need to see. Biography: Prof. Rupert Read is one of the definitive spokespersons on ‘The Collapse’. He is the co-author of This Civilisation is Finished. The book describes how Industrial civilisation has no future. It requires limitless economic growth on a finite planet. The reckless combustion of fossil fuels means that Earth’s climate is changing disastrously in ways that cannot be resolved by piecemeal reform or technological innovation…. Unless humanity does something beautiful and unprecedented, the ending of industrial civilisation will take the form of collapse, which could mean a harrowing die-off of billions of people’. He has been a frequent spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. This has involved meetings with senior politicians from across the political spectrum. He represents Extinction Rebellion on national radio and television, including Radio 4’s Today programme and the BBC’s Question Time and Politics Live. He teaches philosophy at the University of East Anglia, and created and (until recently) led the ‘philosophy of presence’ group in Norwich. He was taught by Joanna Macy, Thich Nhat-Hanh, Richard Rorty and Stanley Cavell.This Civilisation is Finished, by Rupert ReadAn Eco-Spiritual Basis for Rebellion Against Extinction - Schumacher College

If we can open our eyes and look in the mirror of the world, we can open ourselves to the InterBeing  that allows Active Hope as we face the chaos of our world.  In this interview, Della Duncan, Renegade economist, host of the Upstream podcast, and practitioner of Joanna Macy's Work that Reconnects, explores the ways to a sustainable and equitable future. Podcaster, economist, and spiritual activist, Della Duncan is deeply integrated in the movement for human and planetary change.  In this deep-diving conversation, we explore what it is to 'InterBe' such that we can take our place fully in the web of consciousness.  Drawing deeply on her own experience, Della explores the ceremonies that we can undertake to help us shift our consciousness to reach a place where we can open our eyes and see ourselves in the mirror of the world. As someone who has trained directly and intensively with Joanna Macy, Della teaches widely the Work that Reconnects and seeks to apply the sense of turning towards the world in every moment of life.  We discuss the ways that reframing the economy can be a bridge between those seeking systemic social change and those engaged in spiritual activism, look at the 'Upstream' metaphor and how finding the source of malaise is as important as rescuing those who are being damaged by our current system. Within the framework of the Three Pillars of the Great Turning: Holding Actions; Systemic Change; and Shifting Consciousness, through the dynamics of systemic change and the leverage points of change, Della lays out the ways we can move towards equity, sustainability and a life well lived. Della's website: https://www.dellazduncan.comThe Upstream podcast website: https://www.upstreampodcast.orgA view into Joanna Macy's Three Pillars of the Great Turning http://beamsandstruts.com/bits-a-pieces/item/980-joanna-macy-and-the-three-pillars-of-the-great-turningMari Kondo's website https://konmari.comMarianne Williamson website: https://marianne.comKen Wilbur's quadrants: https://integrallife.com/four-quadrants/

For most of us, falling in love with the absolute wonder of being alive is a distant dream.  Nonetheless, changing how we feel is the goal of most self-help courses, a great deal of therapy and most of the routes that lead to alcohol and drug abuse.Suppose we could do it intelligently, with a generosity-of-spirit that allows us really to fall in love with the act of living.  So that each moment of life becomes a wonder, however it is lived?In this final podcast of series 1, we take a look at this ultimate sticking point in our society. For many of us, feeling just isn’t safe and feeling good is either self-indulgence or self delusion.  Or at least, that’s what we’ve programmed ourselves to believe.But imagine a world where everyone was in love with living every moment of the day. Where we knew as a felt sense, that life was inspiring, and there to be explored. Where the magic of the days touched every interaction with ourselves, other people and the world around us.None of this is impossible. Childhood trauma notwithstanding, we do have the ability to choose how we feel, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. I can open to the things that make my heart grow – or I can recycle the things that make it shrink. (With the coda that for some of us, our history of trauma is too great and we are hijacked by the impact of that on our bodies – therapy is a key resource and one to be used if at all possible.)For most of us, though, we let our default feelings define the tenor and thread and weave of our lives. And we don’t have to. In fact, we need not to do this for any longer than we can help.In this podcast, we explore the ways we can shift out of our defaults to something that lets us flourish. Because the world needs nothing less from us now.Jonathan Haidt - the Righteous Mind   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/0141039167/ref=sr_1_1Bessel van der Kolk - The Body Keeps Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IICN1F8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0Peter Levine: In an Unspoken Voice: how the body releases trauma and restores goodness   https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009BVWRLO/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2Stephen Porges: Polyvagal theory: https://www.stephenporges.comJonathan Franzen - What if we stopped pretending? https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-if-we-stopped-pretendingJem Bendell - Deep Adaptation: http://www.lifeworth.com/deepadaptation.pdfRupert Read: This Civilisation is Finished: https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Civilisation-Finished-Conversations-Empire/dp/0994282834/ref=sr_1_1

Emergence from Complex Systems is a thing.  And the thing about it is, that there are only two options when a system reaches maximal complexity: collapse to chaos and extinction OR emergence to a new phase.  We prefer the second option, so this is a look at complexity - and at the levers of change in any system. Complexity is all around us - in fact if we're looking for a distinction between complicatED things as opposed to comPLEX things, then it's that people make things complicated (but linear, and readily described) while the whole of the rest of the web of life makes things that are complex... from a cell to an organ to a human (or animal, or plant) body, to an ecosystem, to our climate, to the entire planetary biosphere... (which is why modern medicine doesn't get so far when it tries to treat us all as if we were basically clockwork and all they have to do is fix the flywheel...)Anyway - if we're going to understand how we tick, if we're going to understand why the non-linear tipping points of complex systems trend towards infinity quite so fast (think methane hydrates boiling off in the arctic causing runaway global heating)  - and particularly if we're going to get to grips with why and how we might reach a stage where conscious evolution is the next emergent property of the hyper-complex system of human society... We need to understand the basics of complexity. And when we've got our heads around this, it's useful to have a look at the Levers of Change by which any complex system may be nudged - because the non-linear nature of complex systems means that the ways we might, say, change the trajectory of a jetliner are not the same ways we might influence a complex system. So we look at that, too, with honour given to Donella Meadows for coming up with the twelve point list. If you want to look more at her work, it's hereIf you want to look at the twelve points specifically, try here

What would our lives look like if we knew how to become the best of ourselves?  If we could hack our way into a sense of authenticity that allowed us to live with integrity?  Let’s find out…. As is clear by now, if large numbers of us are going to find a way to move towards conscious evolution, then we have to solve the problem of how ordinary, time-poor, stressed out people in a world hurtling towards chaos and calamity, can find the time, space and bandwidth actually to become the change we need to see in the world.To this end, we explored the neuroscience of habits in the last podcast and now, here, we want to look at how habits shape who we are as people. Because really quite large amounts of our lives are habits of feeling which lead to habits of thought which lead to habits of action.  And if we’re going to reach a place where conscious evolution is the next iterative step, we need to learn how to feel, think and act differently in world in which our default is usually to pick a behaviour from our tool kit and implement it. 

Dive into the fascinating world of habit formation and why some habits are so easy to adopt, even the bad ones! Explore the neuroscience behind turning desired behaviors into effortless routines. Discover the crucial role of triggers, desires, and positive reinforcement in building lasting habits. Learn about four key internal reinforcers like dopamine and serotonin, and how they can help anchor new behaviors in your daily life. Practical strategies and real-world applications are shared to help you reshape your habits.

How do you create heart coherence and inner resilience?  This episode of the podcast explores the ways we can balance head-mind and heart-mind to create the kinds of inner equanimity that allow us to flourish, whatever the outer world throws at us.If we’re going to reach conscious evolution, we need to be able to stand in balance in the world – a key part of which is that we learn how to open the routes from head to mind to heart so that we can begin to feel what we choose to feel – rather than reacting to our amygdalas.The early podcasts opened the concept of ReAwakening into Connection with the Other-than-Human world. The previous podcast opened the door to Growing into Coherence – the ways in which we can use the fact that ‘what fires together wires together’ to develop a practice of close and open focus meditations.This podcast explores the routes towards Heart Coherence – which develops outwardly as regularities in heart rate variability. There is more on this at the Heart Math Center: and at the Mind Life Institute.The ability to build coherent heart-based sensations – of joy, or compassion, or love, or gratitude, or wonder, or awe… or whatever it is most open to us and most available in the moment as a default sensation that we can revert to in moments when we don’t need to be thinking about something else. Because what fires together wires together, if we can begin to develop theseThe second part of the podcast explores intent focused meditations – the ability to hone our attention into a clear, clean intention in a way that manifests in a changing reality in the world – focused on the creation of conscious evolution.Leading from these, we come to the last two parts of the four step route towards conscious evolution: Asking for Help, and Letting Go.In Asking for Help – we need to take our place in the web of life, and ask ‘what are we here for’ in ways that yields answers that are clear, coherent and constructive. So we have to be able to ask in ways that are free of ego, judgement, projection and fear. We need also have built a set of authentic, grounded relationships with the Other-than-Human world so that we can ask for help and hear answers that make sense to us. This requires that we hone our faculties of attention so that we can interpret the responses as they come to us – this is part of the practice that will take us forward. Each of us needs to understand our own internal landscapes so that we can make our own interpretations cleanly. This is a hugely personal practice that takes time – and a degree of trust – to develop. Trust grows over time and we need to build it.and then – when we can stand in balance; when we can become fully coherent so that we are able to stand in our own power, cleanly and clearly; when we have practiced asking questions in ways that yield clean, clear, coherent answers…Then we can balance on the knife edge of the moment so that we are pure awareness, knowing that all we have to do is ask for help in that space of unknowing where all that we have to do is ask for help and wait for the answers in a place where we can hear cleanly. And this is not going to be a one-hit event. It’s a thing we build to and then we practice it over and over – and if enough of us are practicing this, then this practice will yield a sense of the future iterations that take us to conscious evolution.This isn’t hard. It’s not rocket science. It’s just going to take quite a lot of us, working together.If this sounds good to you, there's more detail - and meditations/visualisation at https://accidentalgods.life