Last month we kicked off our 2013 programme of Gaia Evenings with the wonderful Charles Eisenstein in conversation with the wise Satish Kumar. It was a fascinating talk and we’re pleased to now be able to share some edited highlights with you.
Charles points out that if we continue to approach the challenges we face with the same linear mindset, we will get nowhere. Here’s a taster of what he has to say on the subject: “Our belief in a technological fix for everything comes from a certain worldview. The same worldview that our financial system, educational system and medical system were all built on. The fact that all of the institutions which were built from this mindset are collapsing, speaks to the underlying obsolesence of this story. Every culture has a story of the people which explains who we are, what’s important and what’s valuable. Our story has two dimensions, one which is a story of self, ‘who am I?’ and the other speaks to the story of us, collectively. Our story has been that what you are is a separate individual…in this story, where does security come from? It comes from controlling the outside world and isolating yourself from external forces. It makes us think that the more control you have over these external forces, the safer you’ll be. But in fact, our ability to control is an illusion….”