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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.

Masculinity and the end of time

By May 15, 2013
clocks

Ah, it's good to have a sense of humor. In fact, a sense of humor is an essential part of what I've been calling "the New Masculine." As an example, almost as soon as my article, "Creating the New Story: The Masculine and the Feminine," got published on various internet sites earlier this year, the cruelest cosmic joke of all time - for humanity, that is - came into my awareness. What is the nature of this cosmic joke? Rather than going into it in full detail here, I'll provide you a link … [Read more...]

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4 ways to respond to the Boston Marathon bombings

By April 17, 2013
Fred Rogers quote on looking for the helpers

After the bombing attack on Monday that killed three and left more than 170 injured at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Americans try to make sense of yet another act of senseless violence. Whatever the police, the FBI or Homeland Security come up with, here are four ways to understand this tragedy on a personal level that can transform anger and fear into compassion and strength: Think of the victims and "look for the helpers." If you're religious, pray. If not, offer good wishes … [Read more...]

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The masculine, the feminine and the collapse of it all

By April 10, 2013
1950s ad

As modernity’s brief flight into the stratosphere of the industrial age begins its final descent, those who have not turned away from watching the inevitable hard landing will have few choices, but those who have chosen not to strap on the their oxygen masks and tighten their seatbelts will have fewer still. Fear is a big part of why people choose to remain asleep before the unveiling of the greatest show on earth. But they will soon discover their paralyzing fear has not been their friend. … [Read more...]

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Sadly, extinction is no laughing matter

By February 25, 2013
The wise fool.

Quoting Carl Sagan, I begin some presentations with this line: It is far  better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. Many people disagree with Sagan, choosing delusion over reality, believing we can have infinite growth on a finite planet with no consequences for people or other creatures, other life forms, other organisms. The people in this latter group seek hope, and many of them disparage me and my actions for inducing … [Read more...]

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Ackerman and McPherson Dialogue: The idiot box

By February 20, 2013
Couch potato

The following is the fifth in an ongoing dialogue (cyber-discussion) between two cultural philosophers and regular Transition Voice contributors, Dr. Sherry Ackerman and Dr. Guy McPherson. ACKERMAN:  We’ve been having a really intense winter up here in Mount Shasta, Guy. With five feet of snow currently on the ground, it’s been a challenge for us to not get cabin fever. Daylight hours are still fairly short and evenings are long. I’ve been using all that “dark time” to learn to … [Read more...]

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The real war on Christmas and why it matters

By December 6, 2012
Bill O'Reilly

Christmas season is making me tired. Every year, I get tired of hearing jaunty, NutriSweet-y jingles that sound like they're sung by Hello Kitty touted as "Chrismas Carols" and played earlier and earlier in the fall. "Here Comes Santa Claus" on November 11 — it's a revolting enough song if you have to hear it once. But do we really need to endure this particular brand of nausea for a full six or seven weeks? And I'm just as tired of hearing Fox News announcers sound more and more shrill … [Read more...]

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Everyman’s journey

By November 15, 2012
Pilgrim couple

We're re-running this popular piece from the first year of Transition Voice. Pilgrim's Progress: From This World to That Which Is To Come A Survival Sampler "So, can I ask you a personal question? What do YOU call this whole thing, whatever it is, that's gonna happen?"  I posed this to a man I had just met and who happens to be the largest supplier on the East Coast of long-term food storage and survival items.  He had just given us a tour, complete with samples of dehydrated applesauce … [Read more...]

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Healing ourselves before our sick culture kills us

By October 15, 2012
Photo: mnsc.

We share this world -- the good Earth. We are a part of it; we have sprung from it; we give back to it when we die. This symbiosis is all that is truly real. Take a deep breath. As you inhale the air, oxygen molecules, synthesized by other life forms, rush through the labyrinth of your bronchial branches, into the air sacks of your lungs, and progress to the blood stream, attaching themselves to the hemoglobin of your red blood cells. Your heart pumps them to every corner of your body, … [Read more...]

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Only love remains

By October 5, 2012
railway sign with word "love"

Most people would say I’m not religious. I’m not spiritually religious, although I exhibit some behaviors in a religious manner. I refer to myself as a free-thinker, a skeptic, and occasionally an indifferent agnostic or a militant atheist. So the apparently spiritual title of this essay would seem out of character for those who know me. I’ll not wander down the road of knowing me. Even after five decades of study, much of it characterized by the serious introspection allowed those who … [Read more...]

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Bear in mind

By October 3, 2012
bearlady

I love it that for the past few years woodland animals have been all the rage in DIY design circles. Some are nouveau-cutesy, others realistic, and almost always rendered in ways that instantly make you love the object — whether it's a stuffed animal, tee shirt, print, bedding, drinking glasses, wall mounted fake taxidermy or whatever. Very hip, very fun. Of course, from Lascaux to Frank Lloyd Wright, artists have always found a muse in nature. Drawing inspiration from nature But … [Read more...]

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