Summary: “We need a new imagination for how we are going to live together, how we’re going to do business, what we’re going to permit in the body politic, as well as the human body. It is that failure of imagination that I think is the biggest roadblock that I’ve encountered.” --Carolyn Raffensperger It's time to connect the dots to see what we're looking at! Listen now to our first episode in the new Living Hero Synthesis Series, audio essays meant draw together the core thematic elements of the Living Hero interviews. We seek to clarify, reframe, and invite you to join in articulating our worldview, so we may better consider our own part in the geopolitical reality. Our aim is to create contexts for insight and a place where real tough questions get asked. After listening to the podcast, please comment with your thoughts and feelings about these questions, posed at the end of the audio program. Thanks for your participation! 1. How is it that some rare people do break out, transform themselves, become liberated from their conditioning? What are the precursors to that; what does it take to transform oneself? 2. Can our global society overcome its long history of patriarchy, its painful cycles of thwarted love, distorted thinking, and ruthless acts? 3. Should we break the taboo on this and talk about a societal obligation for people to break the cycle of abuse in themselves and to come to wholeness in themselves and with their parenting partners before having a child? 4. Are we talking impossible idealism here when we speak of ending child disrespect and abuse or are we, in fact, at last, calling for merely the ABCs and the 1-2-3s of human decency and the foundations of a sane and healthy society? 5. Anything else in this essay you'd like to contribute thoughts, opinions, or further explorations on . . . What do you think? And, more importantly, what do you imagine? And what do you suggest? The specific Living Hero interviews to tap for segments quoted in this essay, in order of appearance, are: Carolyn Raffensperger, Dan Pink, Jonah Lehrer, Terry Riley, Scott Baum, Gabor Mate, Anne Wilson Schaef, Marcy Axness, John Taylor Gatto, Jim Merkel, Derrick Jensen, and Riane Eisler. Use the Quick List in the left sidebar for a clickable list in alphabetical order. Enjoy the show! (It's half an hour.) Listen at your convenience!
