From the wide range of books out there, we have selected six that provide overall frameworks for thinking about these issues. As this project moves on, we will be recommending other books which go more deeply into different particular areas.
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Conscious Evolution; Awakening Our Social
Potential by Barbara Marx Hubbard A well-known futurist reveals a quantum change in society and points the way to the third millennium. Barbara Marx Hubbard issues a call to action for the current generation to fulfill its creative potential. Hubbard asserts that we must quickly become capable of wise and ethical guidance of evolution itself, if life on Earth is to survive. Order Conscious Evolution from Amazon.com
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Waking Up in Time : Finding Inner Peace in Times
of Accelerating Change by Peter Russell Amid the tumult of visions for the new millennium, this book by renowned scientist and visionary Peter Russell stands out for its sanity and brilliance. Waking Up in Time is every man and woman's manifesto for awakening to the mounting global crisis while deepening their connection to inner peace and transformation. Order Waking Up in Time from Amazon.com
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The Resurgence Of The Real; Body, Nature, And Place In A Hypermodern World by Charlene Spretnak Our globalized, "virtual, " and hyper-rationalized world is built on denial, the author claims--denial of the fundamental human connection to nature; a sense of place; and an understanding of the body. In this book, Spretnak explains why the fall of communism and the triumph of capitalism have not come close to establishing a new world order and how, until we face the failure of modernism, nothing will change. Order Resurgence of the Real from Amazon.com
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Reworking Success : New Communities at the
Millennium by Robert Theobald As modern day culture teeters on the brink of collapse, Theobald offers an analysis of the situation and some positive things that people can do. One of his central ideas is that ordinary people can make a difference, if only they have the will to take action and the belief that they can change things. He advocates new ways of thinking about our problems and the future, and working in a cooperative manner is stressed. He has many ideas that are worth serious consideration if we want to avoid catastrophe. See other books by Theobald on his website. Order Reworking Success from Amazon.com
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Leadership and
the New Science : Learning About Organization from an Orderly Universe by Margaret
Wheatley Based on new science theories, this innovative management book sheds light on the issues that affect organizations most--order and change, autonomy and control, structure and flexibility, planning and innovation. The hardcover was considered the number-one management book of 1992. Order Leadership and the New Science from Amazon.com
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The Healing of America by Marianne
Williamson Noting a spiritually motivated political activism now emerging in America, Marianne Williamson claims that traditional political activists increasingly look to spiritual wisdom for inspiration while spiritual contemplatives are increasingly eager to extend their service to the world into political realms. The convergence of the two impulses forms what Williamson calls a "holistic politics." |
Here are a series of articles you may want to read or download and circulate. They're some of the ones we have come across recently which are helpful in thinking about resiliency.
Strange Attractors, Paradigm shifts and Y2k
By David La Chapelle. On Christmas night in 1642 a new born child was struggling for his life. In the sky above a comet could be seen and those who contemplated the heavens wondered what manner of catastrophe was predicted. The child, who was not expected to survive, went on to live past eighty and usher into the western world a fundamental shift in how the universe was perceived. The contributions he made laid the groundwork for a scientific-technological revolution which would change the face of the planet. Some might argue that this revolution has had a catastrophic environmental effect and so in a way the comet’s legacy has been fulfilled.
Avoiding Panic: The Real Challenge of Y2K
By Robert Theobald. 14 Months and Counting until the decision to state dates in computers with two figures instead of four starts to bite. Or eight months if one recognizes that glitches will start appearing at the beginning of the 2000 fiscal year. And some problems may emerge as early as January 1,999. The amount of technical work which can be completed for large systems is already largely determined: there is not enough time to start work at this point and hope to have it completed. Smaller systems still have time to be changed although the availability of competent computer programmers is a major constraint and many organizations have yet to recognize how much they are at risk. See other articles by Theobald on his website
Planetary Consciousness: Our Next Evolutionary Step
By Ervin Laszlo. Whether we know it or not, systemic processes hold sway in the development of society, the same as they do in the evolution of nature. The new sciences of complex systems and evolution,cybernetics, general system theory, the theory of dynamical systems (known as chaos theory), and general evolution theory, among others, tell us that, whatever their nature, complex systems evolve with an underlying logic of their own. This evolution is not haphazard, though it is not entirely predictable. It does have an underlying direction; a probability that, following any basic transformation, certain kinds of states and conditions will come about.
Turning to One Another: The Possibilities of Y2K
By Margaret Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers. The Year 2000 problem (Y2K) sits in our midst, terrifying some, boring others. No one knows for certain how we will be affected by worldwide failures in computers and computerized equipment when the calendar shifts to a four-digit year. But we do know some things for certain. Y2K is a powerful teacher about our modern life. It makes visible the interconnections by which we have woven the world together through technology. It illuminates the extent to which both local and global systems are computer dependent. It displays the limitations of traditional approaches to leadership and planning.
By Bernard Lietaer. Few
people have worked in and on the money system in as many different capacities as Bernard
Lietaer. He spent five years at the Central Bank in Belgium, where his first project was
the design and implementation of the single European currency system. He was president of
Belgium's Electronic Payment System, and has developed technologies for multinational
corporations to use in managing multiple currency environments. 
He has helped
developing countries improve their hard currency earnings and taught international finance
at the University of Louvain, in his native Belgium. Bernard Lietaer was also the general manager
and currency trader for one of the largest and most successful offshore currency funds.
By Douglass Carmichael. This series of six scenarios developed by Doug Carmichael provides an excellent set of alternative lenses for looking at possibilities for the future.
By Michael Dowd. This absolutely delightful article which traces the story from creation myths for the cosmos and into the sacred story of life and then towards deep ecology. It is a wonderful framing of many of the relevant issues of our time and a compelling piece well worth the read.
