Listen to the full episode at https://www.agatheringofstories.com/lineup-pandemic/charles-eisenstein

People make the choices that they make as a result of the circumstances that they're in, although the circumstances do not necessarily determine the choice. Recognizing this allows us the humility of knowing that despite the colors of our totems, ultimately, we are not unalike. 

We are here to serve life and beauty on earth, just as every other species is here to do.

The focuses of our economic systems are such that pursuing difficult-to-quantify things such as heart and beauty for its own sake is not by nature economically viable; the majority of their creators are often pushed into the margins.

When we see the world as a contest of survival, we create systems that reify that preconception.

Our most powerful exercise of will and agency is perhaps the ability to focus attention, something that leads to the circumstances in which your other choices can be made.

When I understand that my very existence at its core is part of the existence of each ecosystem and species around the world, then I know that whatever happens to them is in a way happening to me.

The Question that the current crisis is opening up is, "How do we want to live" What do we want to true ourselves to?

The immense depth and breadth of the influence and power of the ”machine”, or ”system”, is such that forming a practical plan against it can seem impossible. And yet our hearts know that it doesn’t have to be this way.

Truth, a different interpretation

There are clear signs of unbalance in our ecosystems and agricultural institutions, so why do those with power ignore them? Is it not short sighted and self destructive? What are the conditions which compel such thinking?

Safety through Control goes along well with the Myth of separation, and in our recent times we have been shown a glimpse of a potential future. Is it a future we want?

The attitude of conquest is at the core of what we must look past if we want a world that is any different from the one we have now. 

What is Progress if not Growth? This is a question that when evaluated truly can give some insight onto the way in which plans of problem solving go awry. In this clip with the fine folks from straight talk live, we explore the ecological and environmental crisis. 

A frog in a well may think of the universe as only what it can see, a small pool of dark water. In what way was I or you, and still may be, a frog in a well? 

Part of the dysfunction of civilization has come because sacredness has been exported onto something other than each other and the world.

What we have seen as practical and sound solutions and methods of deriving actionable plans to the problems of our systems are often working with an incomplete tool set, and are incapable of dissolving the dominant paradigm.

The causes and functions of humility, an almost universal human experience that can be gone through both on an individual level, and a collective level.

The economic view of a human as a discrete isolable individual acting out of self interest is an idea that can only be held by excluding crucial information, information that can easily be accessed through observing ourselves. 

This clip is from an interview with Charles Eisenstein recorded on March 31st of this year. this clip was taken from the beginning of the interview, where Charles upon the relevance of current events, such as the pandemic, on the transition from the ago of separation into the age of reunion. The original interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em-cIcNmLGU&t=289s

The bulk of humanity has unfulfilled needs, a big one being a lack of connections, connections to nature, to community. This drives us to seek out apparent solutions, but the only readily available solutions are ones based on control, and unsustainable growth. 

Only when our solutions tap into the wellspring of compassion that inspires our courage will they truly be fulfilling.