Great Turning Times June 2008
 

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Dear Reader,

I'm sorry it's been such a while since the last newsletter in December 2007, though the advantage of a longer gap is that it becomes easier to see, and comment on, some of the emerging trends happening in our world. One big change in the last six months is in the price of oil. I see this as of particular significance to the Great Turning, and I'll explain why. Two other events I'm going to mention are the publication of The Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins and a recent gathering in Bristol exploring the twin themes of Happiness and Sustainability. But first, the price of oil.

At the end of last year, oil prices were creeping up towards $100 a barrel, having started the year at about $60 a barrel. A BBC website article (1) in November 2007 discussed this in the context of past oil price fluctuations, and concluded:

"The lesson of history, is that when oil prices soar up to record levels, they usually then fall back down".

This is the 'business as usual' story of conventional economics, where oil prices go up and down in a world with plentiful supplies. Basing its policies on this view, the UK Government, in its 2007 Energy White Paper (2), estimated that world oil prices will be $57 a barrel by 2010, and $53 a barrel by 2020. But what we're seeing is very different to this and much closer to the scenario predicted by an understanding of Peak Oil. Oil is more difficult and expensive to extract from an oil field once it is past its peak production point and the same is true of the world's oil supplies as a whole. Discussing Peak Oil in the June 2005 edition of the Great Turning Times (3), I wrote:

"Once this point is reached, oil will become progressively more expensive."

When we pass the world peak of oil production, supply won't be able to keep up with rising demand, pushing prices up even more. Is this what we're beginning to see? By June this year, oil prices had climbed to $139 a barrel, nearly seven times the $20 a barrel they were in 2002. If we are reaching Peak Oil (see item 10 in this newsletter for an excellent introduction to this) then we can expect the price of oil to continue to rise. Each big rise in oil prices over the last 35 years has been followed by a recession, and it looks reasonably likely we'll be facing this too, but on a larger scale. What will this mean for us?

David Korten (4), in his book The Great Turning, uses the term The Great Unravelling to describe the falling apart of an unsustainable society as it pushes past its limits. He saw increasing oil prices as one of the indicators of this unravelling process. He writes:

"Increasing oil prices are but one indicator of the unravelling of an economy based on the depletion of non-renewable natural resources."

Korten also comments on other aspects of this Great Unravelling, like extreme weather events linked to climate change and terrorist attacks in a divided world. You may have witnessed aspects of this wider unravelling process. It can be frightening to observe. The story of the Great Turning is about finding our positive response to this and participating in a collective deep-level transition towards a sustainable and life-affirming society. This is an inspiring story, and it is much helped by the publication of Rob Hopkins' new book - The Transition Handbook (5), which I'd like to tell you about.

The starting point for the Transition approach is a recognition that life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable and that it's better to plan for it now than be taken by surprise later. If we want to avoid a societal collapse as the oil age ends, we need to wean ourselves off our collective oil dependence. But the transition approach is about much more than just 'giving up oil'. It is also about developing a positive vision of what a post-petroleum society could be like and then taking active steps towards this. A central assumption is:

"That by unleashing the collective genius of those around us to creatively and proactively design our energy descent, we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching and that recognise the biological limits of our planet."

The Transition Handbook is an invitation into this process. It describes how to be part of a positive, inspiring response to the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change. I own up to a bias here, in that I contributed to one of the chapters (Chapter Seven, on the psychology of change). But I rate this book as one of the single most important contributions to the Great Turning in recent years. If I were to award a "Great Turning Book Prize", I'd give it to Rob Hopkins.

The central concept of the Transition approach is 'resilience', which Hopkins defines as "the ability of a system, from individual people to whole economies, to hold together and maintain their ability to function in the face of change and shocks from the outside." Resilience is also a key theme of Positive Psychology, the new science of happiness, which I teach in Bristol.  Each May, I organise a big public talk called The Bristol Happiness Lectures, and the theme this year was Happiness and Sustainability. Sustainability isn't often thought of as a happy word, a negative association I countered by giving my talk the title "How facing world problems can make you happier!" I'll explain how.

In my talk, I made the distinction between a happy picture and a happy sequence. In a happy picture, you see the things you associate with happiness. Typically this involves smiling faces, cuddly pets, flowers and things going well. A trillion dollar advertising industry is based around linking consumer products to such pictures of happiness. But basing our mood on the scene we inhabit can make us less resilient, as it increases our vulnerability to falling apart when the required "happy" ingredients aren't there. With this way of thinking, sustainability issues are often viewed as threats to happiness, as they risk spoiling the picture with bad news or guilt. This can lead to a resistance to disturbing information and a blanking out of global issues. If we're to engage enthusiasm for, and participation in, the Great Turning, we need to approach happiness differently.

I think of a happy sequence as more like a cartoon strip or story-board with a number of different frames. While the initial picture may not be happy, the response to difficulty can be what makes for good mood. When someone responds to a challenge by rising to it, they give their life three important contributors to good mood: purpose, engagement and the warm afterglow of feeling happy about what you've done. No wonder research links environmental activism with higher levels of happiness.

I come back to the rising price of oil. In the business as usual story, this is a temporary blip, and prices will come down again soon. The more this doesn't happen, the more obvious it will be that the age of cheap oil is over and end of the oil age isn't so far away. Dramatically lower energy consumption is coming our way and it's better to plan for it now than be taken by surprise later. If we view this in terms of a happy sequence, might high oil prices be a wake up call to our collective oil dependence? Might future generations look back on this as a significant trigger event in the Great Turning? That's the version of history-being-made this newsletter aims to support. If you're reading this, it is likely you're part of this story too.

With you in these times of Great Turning

Chris Johnstone
Editor, The Great Turning Times.
email: chris@chrisjohnstone.info
http://www.chrisjohnstone.info
http://www.GreatTurningTimes.org
 
(4) The Great Turning, David Korten (2007), Berrett-Koehler
(5) The Transition Handbook, Rob Hopkins (2008) Green Books.
(1) Events listings at GreatTurningTimes.org
As the readership of this newsletter is increasingly international, the format has changed recently. The UK and international editions are now combined, and the main events listings are now on the events page of the website of this newsletter (see http://www.greatturningtimes.org/ShowEvents.asp ) This website also introduces the Great Turning, has past newsletters and offers an inspiring web-links page. The good news is that this events page can offer more up to date information between newsletters. It also allows you to enter events so that other people can find out about them. The events page has five geographical fields. Choose your part of the world to find out about workshops on The Work That Reconnects, Deep Ecology, Eco-psychology and other events supporting the shift towards a life sustaining society. If there aren't many events currently listed (it may take a little while for this to catch on), then please do enter some! Here's how to do this.

To publicise an event that contributes to The Great Turning, go to Events in the top bar, and then select 'Add New Event' from the pull down menu. Choose the part of the world the event is in, (banded to UK, North America, Australia, Europe and Other), and then fill in the details, according to the fields given. Please put the duration of the event in the details bit. When it is complete, click on 'Save Details' at the bottom. All that you've written should then disappear without a trace. Then if you email me (chris@chrisjohnstone.info) to let me know you've entered something, I can authorise it so that it goes up on the site. There may be a bit of a time delay before this happens. If you have any problems with this, let me know.

One of the purposes of this events listings is to publicise workshops in The Work That Reconnects, the empowerment approach developed by Joanna Macy and colleagues. I get emails from people all over the world asking how to find out about local workshops, so if you're offering these or similar trainings, please use this events pages to let people know about them. There are currently plenty of workshops listed for the UK. The events listings outside the UK have been a bit slower to take off, but as this facility gets known about, its use will increase.
See http://www.GreatTurningTimes.org 
(2) Apology for two errors in last edition
Some of you may have experienced problems with two web links in the last edition.
The first was to a Rob Hopkins You-Tube video. Rob was invited to speak at the International Forum on Globalisation, but as he's given up flying, he sent this video instead. Here he describes the development of the Transition Movement.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3B0zQ1pJAaY 

The second was to the wonderful interview with Joanna Macy in Permaculture magazine.
The link should be http://www.permaculture-magazine.co.uk/articles/archive/article_45a.html
(3) Two more Rob Hopkins videos on You-Tube
In just over five minutes, Rob introduces his book at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kGHrWPtCvg0 
In an interview with EON, the ecological options network, Rob introduces the transition approach. See http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rQF09NG00V8
(4) David Korten talks about The Great Turning
There's a great interview with David Korten on You Tube, where he introduces the Great Turning and describes how we could be living at a defining moment in human history. See http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6n7prGOvyGU 

See also websites at http://thegreatturning.net/ and http://davidkorten.org/ 
For more about the Great Turning and David Korten's work.
(5) Joanna Macy and David Korten in conversation
On April 25, 2008 David Korten and Joanna Macy had a conversation about the Great Turning before 450 people at Seattle Unity Church. You can hear the conversation and see an artist's story boarding of the meeting at
http://www.4tgc.org/content/page/korten-macy-conversation 

Joanna Macy's website also offers a wealth of resources for the Great Turning. See http://www.joannamacy.net/
(6) Rob Hopkins interviews Joanna Macy
Rob Hopkins and Joanna Macy both presented at Findhorn's recent conference on Positive Energy. In Rob's excellent blog at http://www.transitionculture.org he published at interview he did wiith Joanna Macy on the last day of the conference. Here's the link:
http://transitionculture.org/2008/04/21/exclusive-to-transition-culture-an-interview-with-joanna-macy/
(7) A short cartoon about Peak Oil
This cartoon, about the rising and then falling of oil production, lasts about two minutes. It offers a disturbing warning of the potential crash to come.
See http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulxe1ie-vEY
(8) Leading scientist is gagged on climate change
James Hansen, of NASA, is one of the world's leading scientific authorities on climate change. Yet in a You-Tube video, he describes how the Bush administration is restricting who he can talk to and editing what he can say. This film is less than ten minutes long, and describes how scientific reports have been systematically watered down by White House officials in a way that has misled U.S. politicians and the public about climate change. This is one of the biggest scandals of our time. Find out more at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jc4OzpgTOhk
(9) Embracing Pain - a short film with Joanna Macy
A beautiful four minute film with Joanna Macy talking about the value of pain
http://www.turntowardlife.tv/streamingmedia/10_joanna_macy_brief_interview/index.htm
(10) Richard Heinberg on the need to adapt to a low oil economy
This interview was filmed in October 2005. In it, Richard Heinberg accurately predicts rising energy prices and describes how this brings a need to change the way we live. See http://www.bigpicture.tv/videos/watch/96da2f590 

For an excellent introduction to peak oil, see the Richard Heinberg's You-Tube video at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DHXdS9XYVs8 
(11) http://priceofoil.org
If you want to keep an eye on the price of oil, as well as become more informed on some of the issues around this, check out this website from Oil Change International. They campaign to expose the true costs of oil and facilitate the coming transition towards clean energy. They are dedicated to identifying and overcoming political barriers to that transition. See http://priceofoil.org/thepriceofoil/ 
(12) Transition Initiative Update and Primer
I see the growth of Transition Initiatives as one of the most inspiring expressions of the Great Turning happening in our time.
You can find out more about this approach, and catch up on recent developments at http://transitiontowns.org/Main/HomePage 

Reading Rob Hopkins's wonderful website and blog at http://www.transitionculture.org is also a good way of keeping up with what's happening.

If you're considering setting up a transition initiative in your area, and would like an information resource on how to do this, you can download the new 49 page (1mb download) Transition Initiatives Primer from http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/Primer
This gives a brilliant summary of peak oil issue, an outline of the transition process and links to other resources
(13) Spanish translations of Joanna Macy, Chris Johnstone, Richard Heinberg and Rob Hopkins
Chilean magazine Mundo Nuevo carries the following articles in Spanish.
For Joanna Macy on El Gran Cambio (The Great Turning)
See http://www.mundonuevo.cl/revista/ene_feb_2008/pag-10-11.php 
For Chris Johnstone article on see http://www.mundonuevo.cl/revista/ene_feb_2008/pag-6-7.php 
For Richard Heinberg article see http://www.mundonuevo.cl/revista/may_jun_2008/pag-6-7.php 
And for Rob Hopkins article see http://www.mundonuevo.cl/revista/may_jun_2008/pag-10-11.php 

Chris Johnstone's article "what is Deep Ecology?" is also viewable in English at http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/johnston.htm and in German at http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/was_ist_deep_ecology.htm 
(14) Rosie Boycott on Nine Meals from Anarchy
This article appeared recently in Britain's Daily Mail. It describes just how reliant we are on an industrial system of food supply that is dependent on oil, and also what might happen if this were to break down. Disturbing reading.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1024833/Nine-meals-anarchy--Britain-facing-real-food-crisis.html 
(15) Resilience Blog by Nick Wilding
Reading articles like the one above reminds me of the need to train ourselves in resilience. One contribution to this field is the resilienceblog.com website from Nick Wilding. Read his latest blog on reslience in response to climate change at http://resilienceblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/toward-resilience-psychology-in.html 
(16) The Work That Reconnects Internationally
How can we train ourselves to take part in the Great Turning? The Work That Reconnects is an experiential empowerment training developed by Joanna Macy and her colleagues with this purpose in mind. You can find out more at Joanna Macy's website at http://www.joannamacy.net/html/work.html  
Joanna's workshop schedule is at http://www.joannamacy.net/html/schedule.html 

There is also a growing international network of facilitators offering workshops based on this approach.

Ruth Rosenhek is offering facilitator training workshops in Australia, Canada and the USA. You can find out details of these at
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/schedule.htm 

Rebekah Hart is offering workshops in Canada. Details of her workshop on July 12th are viewable at
http://ascentmagazine.com/webExclusive.aspx?WEID=120&page=read&subpage=current&issueID=38
 

Barbara Ford is offering workshops in the USA, and has website at http://www.gaiaworkshops.net/page1.aspx 

In Germany, a group has developed an in-depth training that they have offered for many years. Called The Holon Training, you can read about it at
http://www.tiefenoekologie.de/de/termine/holon-training.html 

In July, Claire Carre and Aline Wauters are giving a four day workshop in French in Belgium.
Email clou.carre@free.fr or roseaux.dansants@gmail.com  for more information.

In August,  Dearbhaile Bradley, Thierry De Wijn, Suzanne Duarte offer a Council of All Beings in the Netherlands.
Email sduarte@xs4all.nl  for more information.

In September, The Swedish Green Thinktank in Sweden are offering an Ecofeminist Gathering for All Our Relations featuring workshops drawing on the Work That Reconnects. Email art-of-freedom@comhem.se  for more information.

See http://www.greatturningtimes.org/ShowEvents.asp for details of these and other workshops.

If you are involved in offering workshops in the Work That Reconnects, please use the events page at http://www.GreatTurningTimes.org to let people know about them (see item 1, above). Please also let me know, so that I can pass on information to others through this newsletter.
(17) Gaiavic - an Australian resource
For more about the Work That Reconnects and similar workshops in Australia, one network to promoting these is GaiaVic.
See their website at http://gaiavic.org/
(18) A Register of UK Facilitators in the Work That Reconnects
There is a growing community of Work That Reconnects facilitators in the UK. If you facilitate, or would like to train to facilitate, these workshops, please make contact with Alex Wildwood by email at alex at wildwood.org.uk as he is developing a UK Register of Facilitators, and also developing trainings in this approach.

If you are part of a local group interested in having someone offer a Work That Reconnects workshop in your area (in the UK), please contact Jenny Mackewn on jennymac at netgates.co.uk or Dearbhaile Bradley on dearbhaile@dearbhaile.wanadoo.co.uk. They will try and put you in touch with a facilitator team that can do this.
(19) The Work that Reconnects in UK
So far this year, Work That Reconnects workshops have occurred in Bristol, Frome, Totnes and Cambridge, amongst other places. Here's a run-down of some coming up soon:

Mini-workshops at the Buddhafield Festival over July 16th to 20th (see http://buddhafield.com/budffest.html)

A one day workshop in Glastonbury on August 6th (email janesiran at yahoo.co.uk for more information)

From 25th to 28th September, the popular Choosing Life camping gathering will occur again. This is the third year we've had this networking gathering for people who've experienced the Work That Reconnects. It is a great opportunity to network with others and deepen experience of this approach. (email maitrisara at tiscali.co.uk for more information).

A one day workshop near Totnes on October 11th. This is a 'deepening' workshop for those who've already had some experience of this approach. (For booking, phone The Sharpham Centre on 01803 732542)

A weekend residential workshop at Monkton Wyld from October 31st to Nov 2nd. (see the events page at http://www.monktonwyldcourt.org for details).

There may also be workshops in Cambridge and Hereford. Keep an eye on the events listings page at http://www.greatturningtimes.org/ShowEvents.asp for more details of these and other events.

There are also details of a number of related events on the Great Turning Times events page. These include:-

Zita Cox offers a taster day in Environmental Constellations on July 19th (see http://www.environmentalconstellations.com/ for details)

For those interested in 'Seeing With New Eyes', Chris Johnstone offers a one day introduction to Systems thinking and Gaia Theory at Dillington House in Somerset on July 25th (see http://www.chrisjohnstone.info/courses.htm for details)

Mark Boylan approaches Five Rhythms dance from an earth connecting perspective in a four day workshop starting on August 14th (for details, email timefordance@blueyonder.co.uk )

Martin Jordon introduces Eco-Therapy in Brighton on Sept 20th (see www.ecotherapy.org.uk for details).

If you know about a Great Turning related event you'd like to recommend to others, see item 1 above for how to enter details on the GTT events page.
(20) Eco-psychology talks by Mary-Jayne Rust
For a range of talks and courses, including a key-note lecture to a conference on "The Climate of Change" on Sept 20th, see her website at
http://www.mjrust.net/courses.htm
(21) Local Great Turning groups are sprouting!
See http://www.greatturningexeter.org.uk for an example.
(22) Change the Dream Workshops and Facilitator Training
Change the Dream is a one-day symposium which was presented, for the first time in the UK at the Be The Change May, 2006, London conference. Since then, over 60 symposiums have been presented around the country. They have had three trainings for UK facilitators, and a fourth training is planned for September. Meanwhile, events continue to take place across the country, from Brighton to Edinburgh, from London to Bristol, as well as in Holland, Belgium, Sweden and Australia! See their website at http://bethechange.org.uk/  if you'd like to find out more.

For details of their facilitator training this September, see https://bethechange.org.uk/training_booking.cfm  
(23) Transition Training
With the exponential growth in Transition Initiatives around the country, the need has rapidly arisen for training in the basics of the approach for new communities coming on board.

Training for Transition, founded by Sophy Banks and Naresh Giangrande, has responded to this need by continuing to deliver high quality practical and inspiring training, in the UK and beyond...

They've now established and are developing four training courses that cover the following areas:
- Training for Transition for core groups within transition initiatives
- Training the Trainers to build a team of people who can deliver the 2-day Transition Training course
- Giving Talks on Transition to raise awareness
- Leadership in Transition on authentic leading within a transition context
For more information, see http://www.transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/TransitionTraining
(24) Ecopsychology events with Garri Wiest
Garri Wiest is a Psychologist, Gestalt Psychotherapist and Zen Buddhist 
 
September 6 & 7, 2008
In this two-day retreat we will explore our inner and outer connection to the web of life, the essence of Zen teaching and its practices. There will be periods of meditation and group discussion, as well as a day hike exploring the wildness of Wales. This is a time to cultivate and nurture awareness, listen deeply to the silence of nature, and discover what nature and Zen practice has to offer our lives and the healing of our planet. All levels of experience are welcome.
 
August 30, 2008
Practicing meditation in nature can be very inspiring and powerful, helping us come to know ourselves as part of the wider web of life, arousing enchantment and a new sense of connection with the world. Outdoor practices will include walking meditation, listening meditation, and meditations on spaces that orient us to the inherent spacious quality of mind. The workshop will also include discussions on bringing awareness and awakening to how we choose to live our lives, feed our bodies and care for our environment.
 
Website www.whenthingsfallapart.com   email Garri on garriwiest@aol.com 
 
A big thank you to Cindy Barnes and Suzi McGhee for help producing this newsletter, and to Lynn Hyde for help with the Great Turning Times website. Please let me know of news and resources you would like included in future issues. Please also keep entries short, ideally about 100-300 words. Email Chris Johnstone at chris@chrisjohnstone.info 
 

Next newsletter is due around September/October.
With you in this Great Turning adventure!
Chris Johnstone
Editor, The Great Turning Times.
email: chris@chrisjohnstone.info