Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Please go to newparadigmdigest.com to watch this video.

How can architects build a new world of sustainable beauty? By learning from nature. At TEDSalon in London, Michael Pawlyn describes three habits of nature that could transform architecture and society: radical resource efficiency, closed loops, and drawing energy from the sun.

Years ago, I read a book that probed deeper than any I had read up until that time. I was just reminded of the book and it’s author Chellis Glendenning when I came upon an interview with her from 2004. I’m going to try and meet with Chellis next month when I visit friends in Santa Fe.

For now, here is the interview I discovered. I t reflects thinking that is beginning to awaken something in me that is another step toward my deepening feeling about my place in the world and connection with nature.

The interview was conducted by Aric McBay of In the Wake.

Chellis Glendinning is writer and a psychologist specializing in recovery from post-traumatic stress. She is the author of Waking Up in the Nuclear Age (1987); When Technology Wounds (1990); My Name Is Chellis and I’m in Recovery from Western Civilization (1994); Off the Map: An Expedition Deep into Empire and the Global Economy (1999, 2002); and Chiva: A Village Takes on the Global Heroin Trade (2005). Off the Map won the National Federation of Press Women 2000 Book Award. I interviewed her by telephone in January, 2005.

Aric McBay: Can you tell us about the community where you are living now?

Chellis Glendinning: I live in the village of Chimayó, New Mexico. It is one of a number of villages, a village system, that was established in the 1700′s and the 1800′s. It was Spanish culture meeting an indigenous situation. But the people themselves were only partly Spanish. A lot of them were Mexican natives, and a number of Moors and Jews. Also there was intermarrying with Native people here in the Rio Grande Valley. And then there were also various people who were fleeing Europe, so there were Greeks, Irish, and other kinds of folk. What we call the result is Chicano, but it’s a in fact a big mixture.

Each village has its own common lands that usually extend out from the village into the forest. So the setup is fairly archetypal the world around, and it’s a setup of sustainable living with hunting, fishing, and small agriculture. I’ve been living here for more than twelve years.

AM: Can you tell us a little bit about the changes that have been happening recently in your village in terms of encroachments by the dominant culture?

CG: There’s been a huge change. Such that the place is unrecognizable in a way because, in I’d say the last four years, around the turn of the millennium, the changes really started. And they all happened at once so it’s hard to point to one thing. Before this, the old way was very much being lived and assumed. The old philosophy was part and parcel of every breath.

Then all of a sudden, we get the big freeway coming up from Sante Fe, we get the WalMart, we get the cell phones, we get the satellite dish. For the longest time it seemed like just one person in the village had a computer, and all of a sudden, computers became common. Right now we’re just getting the Home Improvement, so when that thing opens it is going to be the end of traditional adobe architecture.

And also a lot of money that came in. So that there was new clothes, new cars, and everything changed.

To continue reading the Chellis Glendenning interview, click here.

And a 2008 video on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which is something most of uu have whether we want to admit it or not.

Life today reflects a huge gulf between the way it is and the way it might be while mother Earth lies bleeding. If we were stewards rather than manufacturers and consumers with little regard for the effects of our actions, life itself would always be our first priority. Instead, we live with the consequences of not thinking about consequences like using the chemical dispersant, Corexit 9500, a violently toxic compound so notoriously lethal it’s been banned for years by the EU.

It’s an effect of the shadow of old paradigm economics that places profits ahead of all life forms including people and our ecological systems. It’s time to reexamine our priorities and decision making processes to be certain that before we proceed with any project, that there are zero negative net impacts on life. Those who wish to drill for oil at 5000 feet depths or any other highly risky undertaking with massive potential financial rewards should be required to prove their ability to handle even more massive worst case scenarios. All chemical manufacturers should be required to prove the non-toxic nature of their products before they can be approved commercially. Otherwise, the earth becomes a living laboratory with humans and all life forms as experimental subjects. This methodology would ideally mirror medicine’s promise to “first do no harm”.

And, the first adopters would gain the loyal following of millions of individuals who want to be part of the healing force for good that is reflected in the very high and continually growing percentage of the population calling themselves “environmentally concerned”. At this moment I am certain it has never been higher and is rapidly approaching 100%. New websites that offer consumer intelligence around product ingredients have arrived and are proliferating.

I can imagine a world in which this is the way things are. We are far from it now, but books like  Cradle to Cradle by visionary eco-architect William McDonough, Jenine Benyus’ Biomimmicry, and Gunter Pauli’s The Blue Economy:10 Years, 100 Innovations, 100 Million Jobs describe and point the way toward a world in which we use nature as our design template. It’s a huge undertaking to move an industrial civilization from its profits before life operating mode but it is happening in growing numbers of socially responsible businesses including the former poster child for evil business, Wal-Mart that is asking suppliers to go green or face deletion from their distribution. One wishes they might also consider planting organics next to or near their stores to supply locally grown organic produce grown and harvested by members of the local community. I’m going to send that idea to them.

I heard a quote yesterday that relates to the oil spill and the vilifying of BP and oil in general. “Let he who does not use petroleum cast the first stone”. It points to the fact that we are a petroleum based society. A search reveals that petroleum is used in cars, houses, toys, computers, phones and clothing. Asphalt used in road construction is a petroleum product as is the synthetic rubber in tires. Paraffin wax comes from petroleum, as do fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, detergents, CD’s and DVD’s, photographic film, furniture, packaging materials, surfboards, paints and artificial fibers used in clothing, upholstery, and carpet backing. Oil is simply a ubiquitous part of our lifestyle.

We are dealing first and foremost with a design flaw. When we design things with a view to only making money, destructive consequences are not taken into consideration. Conversely, if we acknowledge that life is sacred and design our goods based on the precautionary principle, we could live in a nature-based world with minimal human impact.

Perhaps more of us, particularly those who manufacture goods, will wake up and realize our disastrous impacts. That would be a good thing. There are some who have come to this awareness. May their numbers multiply until it becomes our standard as expressed in Buckminster Fuller’s instructional Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth.

In the meantime, each of us can examine our own negative impacts of the things we purchase, use, and consume. That’s the best place to begin for as demand for things that compromise life decreases, the incentive to produce them will diminish. The emerging trend of websites dedicated to consumer intelligence regarding the contents of products including cosmetics is a step in the right direction. And, we can explore and apply the simple ideas put forth by businessman, architect, and Harvard divinity scholar, Joe Simonetta in his books and DVD Seven Words That Can Change the World and his most recent title, Will Humanity Survive?. His suggestions include a respect for the environment and kindness toward each other.

Underlying all of this is the deeper issue of separation of humans and nature and humans and each other. If we truly embodied oneness, we could not hurt another animal or human because we would profoundly understand we are them and they are us as Pogo said “I have met the enemy and they are us.” And we would not pollute because we would understand the earth, air, water and soil are us. It is this disconnect that is at the root of our pain and suffering. Maybe we need reconnection, appreciation and compassion training to look into the eyes of a fellow animal or human and see ourselves and to be immersed in nature in a remote place without other humans and truly understand that without the precious air, water and soil to grow our food in, we cannot survive and life will cease to exist. We must come face to face with the ecocide we are part of and understand that we face what EO Wilson describes as “the death of birth.” The time is now for us to wake up to the crisis and act in new ways for it is the old ways that got us here and more of the same will simply prolong the pain and lead to the breakdown of our life sustaining systems.

When some read in the Bible that man shall have dominion over the earth, they take it to mean they should dominate rather than care for life. If we are to inhabit a livable planet and leave it better than we found it for future generations, we have a lot of work to do. Enlightenment is an inside job-not left to others like government and “the authorities.”. We must begin right where we are-here and now-and learn how to connect deeply with all life forms. If you have accomplished that task, you are a leader and your responsibility is to let others know how vital that connection is and help awaken and embody this interconnectedness. When every person feels the connection and pain, we can use this sacred wound to move forward together in a new direction…one that heals and sustains life. If you have not yet made that connection, there are many resources and wisdom keepers among us who can help us appreciate our deep connection with life.

Among them are:

Joanna Macy describes this moment as The Great Turning that redefines us as living parts of a living planet rather than consumers who help to use up our planet’s resources at ever increasing velocities. The Great Turning marks a transition from an Industrial Growth society to a Life Sustaining Society. How we set goals and measure success is very different in each of these societies. So is how we define growth. Is it in terms of health, longevity, wisdom, beauty and grace in the eyes of God or pure profits? We’ll know the answer if we look with open eyes and hearts. We can see now it is a doomed economy and system on runaway, playing out its last act because it is seeking to maximize one part of life at the expense of the rest. It is a system literally devouring itself like a cancer without balance and sustainability.

She describes three connecting pieces of The Great Turning. Slowing down actions that have us say wait a minute, we need to slow down the Industrial Growth Society and includes soup kitchens, protest marches, tree sitting, and legal and legislative campaigns. But its not enough because a Life Sustaining Society needs structures and new ways of doing things. These she describes as Gaian structures and patterns of organizing. New ways of holding the land, ancient ways of growing food, ways of measuring prosperity (Hazel Henderson’s Calvert Henderson Index that includes many pieces that are left out of GDP that are quality of life measures), new ways of educating and waking each other up. But that is not enough either because any actions will wither and die on the vine if they are not rooted in our values and what we believe is worthwhile and our assumptions about the nature of realty.

This shift in consciousness is happening too at a colossal rate of speed and includes new findings in quantum science, chaos, systems and holographic theory that unite with the wisdom traditions that offer the same perspective-the intricate and interconnected nature of all life-new ways of seeing the sacred-new forms of spirituality. A marriage of the spiritual and scientific that in itself is a reuniting of what has been separated at great cost.

It is an incredible time to be alive-a source of privilege and excitement. It means that life can go on and that can be an exquisite reason to get up every morning.

Perhaps the entire process can begin with something as simple as a walk on the grass. A new book, Earthing: The most important health discovery ever? by Clinton Ober, Stephen Sinatra, M.D., and Martin Zucker reveals that walking on grass has measurable positive health impacts.

Another excellent book on feeling the peace, wisdom and balance that living in harmony with nature brings is Michael J. Cohen’s Reconnection With Nature. Most of us have been conditioned to ignore nearly 50 sensitivities that connect us to the natural world. This separation stress contributes to many of our environmental and personal problems. Through the chapters and activities of Reconnection With Nature, Dr. Cohen suggests ways to use nature’s wisdom to re-awaken dormant sensitivities, rebuild our spiritual connection with the Earth and enhance wellness.

As we get back in touch with nature and its array of life forms, we can protect and guard the most precious of our gifts: life itself and its many processes that allow us to be here. We must move from Sustainability toward Thrivability (sustainability+vision to flourish+ways of being). Humanity’s new work is to realize Bucky’s vision of a world in harmony with nature that works for everyone with as little environmental damage as possible. His vision, expressed now in many ways by countless others everywhere, must be the new basis for our existence.

Jeff Hutner, Editor