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Spirit

Teachings and practices from the world's great faith traditions and humanistic philosophy to help us stay sane and remain courageous during the Transition time.

Occupy peace on Earth, good will towards men

By December 23, 2011
Caricature of Obama ripping Constitution

As Patricia Williams wrote in The Nation this week, “You know these are interesting times when Glenn Beck, Dianne Feinstein, Rand Paul and the ACLU all stand on the same side of an issue.” The issue is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2012, in particular Sections 1031 and 1032, which authorize detaining U.S. citizens indefinitely without charge or trial. The bill would allow federal officials to take these steps based on suspicions only, without having to demonstrate to … [Read more...]

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Explaining police brutality to kids

By November 22, 2011
Pepper cop cherubs

Watch out kid, or I'll give you what for. Photo: PepperSprayingCop.Tumblr.comWhat a quandary we find ourselves in. As parents, we want to uplift and encourage our children, to have them believe with hope and admiration in the founding documents of our nation —the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. The last thing anyone wants is to foster in our kids an early cynicism that unmasks the betrayals in our system, its failures and glaring contradictions. What … [Read more...]

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Occupy parenting

By November 15, 2011
Mother and child

I can identify with what's said about dying soldiers—that in their last moments they call out for their mothers, seeking, perhaps instinctively, that all encompassing comfort that mothers can give. My mom died quite unexpectedly ten years ago. Late on a Halloween, she simply went to sleep and never woke up again. And though we were very different, and the relationship was more superficial than I would have liked, she definitely gave that comfort that a mother gives when I most needed her. … [Read more...]

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From Occupy to what?

By November 8, 2011
Holding hands

All over the world, people, especially the young, are occupying public spaces to call attention to the increasingly grave conditions of the world and the vast discrepancy in well-being between most of the populations and the very wealthy. They're also raising concern about plutocracy —or rule by the wealthy —including corrupt practices that got the wealthy where they are, often in collusion with governments. This movement has become urgent, since governments and corporate leaders with the … [Read more...]

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If you’re not overwhelmed, something’s wrong with you

By August 16, 2011
It's all good illustration

"The shock, the anger, the sense of overwhelm are all understandable," says psychotherapist Kathy McMahon of the moment when someone first hears about peak oil and gets how scary it can be. McMahon, who practices therapy in Northhampton, MA as the "Peak Shrink," thinks that society needs to normalize the anxiety that people feel about ecological overshoot so that more people can find ecological sanity in a crazy world. You're not a weirdo for caring about peak oil. What's crazy is not … [Read more...]

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Still positive after all these years, Tony Robbins, then and now

By August 9, 2011
TRS

Yes, you too can be optimistic and successful in this post-apocalyptic world. Having trouble coping with the collapse of our civilization? Has terrorism, biological, chemical and nuclear war ruined your day? Has the die-off of your friends, loved ones and 6.99 billion other people gotcha down? Has the fact that you're now living in Cormac McCarthy’s nightmare The Road made you depressed because you refused to see it coming two decades ago and as a consequence you might end up on … [Read more...]

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Loaves and fishes, Transition and survivalism

By August 5, 2011
sculpture of cans

As stock markets around the world gyrate and froth at the mouth, the ranks are sure to grow of concerned citizens who aren't waiting around for the government or the rich to fix things, but have instead taken matters into their own hands. Pessimists who foresee a quick and nasty collapse of society coming soon and have little faith in their neighbors are working to protect their families. This is the path of survivalism. Others, who fear that trying to make their household into a castle … [Read more...]

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A nation adrift, unable to pay its debts, now and forever

By July 28, 2011
bad credit sign

The implications of defaulting on the federal debt are certainly not negligible. Far from it. It really will matter to millions of Americans if social security or unemployment checks fail to go out on August 3. Regardless, the one thing we do know is that continuing to prop up America's current system of endless spending through ever-escalating debt is untenable. That's the one part of the debt debate that the GOP gets right, even if they present it disingenuously. But that doesn't make … [Read more...]

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I grieve that we can’t feed the world

By July 26, 2011
Hand Tom

Across our world there's a ticking time-bomb. Maybe that bomb is about to explode? We see it starkly in the horn of Africa. Accelerated climate change, which has brought storms to other parts of the world, is bringing drought to Somalia. Eco-refugees make their way by the thousands to the camps in Kenya, through windswept, barren and dusty plains dotted with makeshift shelters. They're  hungry, frightened and exhausted. And what can we do about it? Yes we can dig deep in our pockets to … [Read more...]

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Showing up in life

By July 20, 2011
Relax

Did you know living more sustainably naturally flows from “showing up” in life? I discovered this while filming my upcoming documentary, GrowthBusters, when I interviewed architect-turned-author Sarah Susanka. Susanka had come to my attention via two books she penned, The Not So Big House and The Not So Big Life. The interview surprised me, however, and is playing a different role in the film than I’d originally intended. Susanka’s personal story resonated with me and relates … [Read more...]

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