2012: Ten Simple Ways Futurists Will Survive And Thrive And How You Can Too!

2012: Ten Simple Ways Futurists Will Survive and Thrive and How You Can Too! Jed Diamond, Ph.D. has been a marriage and family counselor for the last 44 years. He is the author of 8 books, including Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places, Male Menopause, and The Irritable Male Syndrome. He is working on his next book, After The Crash: How to Survive and Thrive When the Ship of Civilization Sinks. He offers counseling to men, women, and couples in his office in California or by phone with people throughout the U.S. and around the world. To contact Dr. Diamond, send an e-mail to [email protected] or visit him at www.MenAlive.com. I’ve been researching and writing about the coming earth changes since 1995 and so was interested in seeing how the movie, 2012, compared to what I believe we face in the near future. The movie contains some nuggets of wisdom, but they are so far buried beneath the crashing buildings and Los Angeles being sucked into the earth that they are nearly impossible to find. I went to the movie last Tuesday night. My wife, Carlin, didn’t want to go. “It sounds too crazy and violent for me,” she said. Since it was two days before Thanksgiving and the kids were out of school, the theater was packed with preteen and post-teen agers using the movie as an excuse to be together. One young couple spent most of the movie doing what I used to call “making out” but which is more modernly called “suck face.” What we call something, I’ve come to believe, has significance. For us “making out” included a whole lot of play, including, but not limited to deep kissing. But if the behavior of this young couple was any indication, “suck face” was just that. They spend long periods of time simply sucking—no touchy-feely, no moans and groans. It reminded me more of a baby sucking on a breast than passionate teenagers learning about adult sex. I wonder whether the current teen fascination for oral sex is really an expression of frightened youth longing for the safety and comfort of a mother’s nourishment and protection. We live in a world that is turning upside down in many ways. It isn’t just young people who are frightened and concerned and no one seems prepared for what is coming. Well, some people are preparing and trying to help others prepare. They are called “futurists.” There are two primary types of futurists. One type believes that the Scripture prophecies of the Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation) will be fulfilled in the future. The other type includes researchers and scientists who are exploring possible, probable, and preferable futures. I’m the latter type of futurist. I became interested in futures studies when I graduated college in 1965 went to medical school, then graduate school. The

Viet Nam war was raging and I was very concerned about my own future and the future of the planet. An uncle gave me a copy of a new magazine, The Futurist, and I joined the World Future Society which has members distributed worldwide in more than eighty countries. Check out their website at http://www.wfs.org/. So, back to the movie! Beginning in 2009, the movie tells us, scientists recognize that the Earth’s core is heating up as a result of powerful solar flairs coming from the sun. They begin to prepare for cataclysmic changes that will bring about the destruction of the Earth. The president (Danny Glover) says point-blank, “The world as we know it will come to an end.” John Cusack, playing an absent-minded writer, is forced to leap into action and save the day as the world falls apart around him. His objective is simple: to take his family out of their California home and into a secret location given to him by a delightfully bonkers woodlands radio host (Woody Harrelson). In this movie portrayal of 2012, craziness ensues (A la A Mad, Mad World), including driving a car through a building and out the other side as earthquakes destroy California, and commandeering a plane as the ground collapses beneath them. What are the kernels of truth we can glean from the movie? 1. Major changes are occurring and “the world as we know it will, in fact, come to an end” quite soon (Look around. It’s already happening). However, the surface of the planet is not about to fall into the sea and there’s nothing magical about December 21, 2012 (other than it’s my 69th birthday) despite what followers of the Mayan calendar predict. 2. There is a fight going on between two different ideologies. There are those who believe the way to respond to the threat is to get as much as we can for ourselves, take care of our own, and let the rest of humanity go under. “If you’re not “fit” enough to survive, you deserve to die. We’re rich and powerful because we’ve earned what we have and our survival proves that God is on our side.” The other way to respond to the threat is to recognize that we are all in this together--Rich or poor, black or white, living in a highly developed or developing country. We will either survive by cooperating and learning to live in peace, or we will likely all die together. The most vulnerable among us will go first, but none of us are immune to what will come about. In order to survive and prosper everyone deserves an opportunity to be part of an evolving new world. Being sure the rich make it to higher ground while the poor are swept away, is a formula that will likely result in everyone being wiped out.

3. Love, courage, and generosity of spirit are the qualities that all of us will need to display as we face the changes that are coming. Real Changes We Are Facing As We Approach 2012 As I said, I’ve been studying the changes the world is facing since I joined the World Future Society in 1966 and actively since 1995. I met John Petersen at one of the first conferences I attended. Petersen is President and Founder of the prestigious Arlington Institute and is considered to be one of the most informed futurists in the world. In his book, A Vision for 2012, he says, “Converging trends strongly suggest that the world – and our country – are about to experience the greatest change and disruption known in our history. The next half dozen years will likely see rapid, global climate change coupled with the beginning of the end of the petroleum era and a reorganization of the planetary energy regime, a major shock to the global financial system, unprecedented food prices, and the growing possibility of wild card events.” [Wild card events are things that are essentially unpredictable, but could happen, such as a pandemic or world war that wiped out a large portion of the population] Here are the stresses that most scientifically-based futurists are concerned about: 1. Economic stress--From instabilities in the global economic system due to increasing debt and ever-widening income gaps between rich and poor people. 2. Emotional stress—From fear of losing resources and increasing violence from those who wish to control the critical supplies of oil, coal, water, and land. 3. Climate stress—From changes in the makeup of our atmosphere. 4. Population stress—Arising from differences in the population growth rates between rich and poor societies, and from the spiraling growth of megacities in poor countries. 5. Environmental stress—From worsening damage to our land, water, forests, and fisheries. 6. Energy stress—From the increasing scarcity of conventional petroleum products.

Energy stress due to the increasing use of fossil energy at a time of increasing scarcity, coupled with our dependence on such resources to power our civilization, makes this a particularly significant stress. We are not just facing “peak oil,” but as author Richard Heinberg says, Peak Everything. “The world is changing before our eyes—dramatically, inevitably, and irreversibly,” says Heinberg. “The change we are seeing is affecting more people, and more profoundly, than any that human being have ever witnessed. I am not referring to a war or terrorist incident, a stock market crash, or global warming, but to a more fundamental reality that is driving terrorism, war, economic swings, climate change, and more: the discovery and exhaustion of fossil energy resources.” As Heinberg goes on to remind us in his prophetic 2003 book, The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies, “Industrial societies have been flourishing for roughly 150 years now, using fossil energy resources to build far-flung trade empires, to fuel the invention of spectacular new technologies, and to fund a way of life that is opulent and fast-paced. “It is as if part of the human race has been given a sudden windfall of wealth and decided to spend that wealth by throwing an extravagant party. The party has not been without its discontents or costs. From time to time, a lone voice issuing from here or there has called for the party to quiet down or cease altogether. The partiers have paid no attention. But soon the party itself will be a fading memory—not because anyone decided to heed the voice of moderation, but because the wine and food are gone and the harsh light of morning has come.” Like all people who become dependent on the “party life” we get very frightened when the booze and drugs run out. We also get very angry with anyone who might try and take our remaining stash. But deep down inside we know that the party must come to an end and a better way of life calls to us. This is a more stress-free life that does not depend on compulsive partying to ease the pain of our worried lives. It is a life that is simpler, yet more satisfying. It is a life that is slower, but truer. It is a life that is gentler, but more powerful. It is a life that is meant to last through the ages, not burn out like a shooting star.

10 Steps For Surviving and Thriving After the Crash. 1. Open your eyes, your mind, and your heart to the reality of the change. Most people live in denial. We see what we want to see. We accept what the major media tells us. We would rather “eat, drink, and be merry” than see the tidal wave of change that is upon us. “People don’t seem to realize it that it is not like we’re on the Titanic and we have to avoid the iceberg,” says Rob Watson, CEO and Chief Scientist of The EcoTech International Group, who Pulitizer-Prize winning author Tom Friedman calls one of the best environmental minds in America. “We’ve already hit the iceberg. The water is rushing in down below. But some people just don’t want to leave the dance floor; others don’t want to give up on the buffet. But if we don’t make the hard choices, nature will make them for us.” If you’ve read this far, you’re probably one of the people who are open to better possibilities than changing deck chairs on the titanic. Read on. 2. Remember that preparation is 65% mental, 20% physical, and 15% fiscal. Most people, as noted, will remain in denial. They would rather stay on the ship, dancing and eating, than make preparations. Those who are willing to prepare often go about it back-ass-words. They worry about their money, spend time following the gold market, or looking for some safe investment over seas. I’m not saying that money issues aren’t important, they are, but not as important as physical and mental preparation. Other people are focused on the physical. They are stocking their reserve of foods or stocking up on ammunition to protect their country hide-away. They worry about whether they’ll have enough and who might be trying to take it away from them. Again, physical concerns are important, but the most important preparations we can make are mental. How does one prepare mentally? Well let’s start with accepting that no matter what we do, we’re all going to die. It may not be on December 21, 2012, but none of us will escape death. That can be a comfort when we realize that we don’t have to prevent the unpreventable. We need to accept that whatever we face, this can be the greatest adventure of our lives. If we play our cards right and have the courage to keep our eyes, minds, and hearts open we will be able to bring more love and healing to the Earth than we’ve been able to offer in our lifetimes.

Preparing for a new world can be a great adventure. Let’s face it, many of us have grown complaisant or frightened and have stopped living our passion. The changes we are facing will force us to great out of our addictive slumber and reengage life at the fullest. 3. Put down your roots in your community. If you haven’t already, find the place you intend to live for the next 20 or 30 years and put down roots. With the changes that are coming down you want to be in a place where you will have a great deal of social support. Throughout human history, humans have been suspicious of strangers and supportive of those people they know well. Make connections with like-minded people in your community. In our town of Willits, California, 5 years ago we created WELL, the Willits, Economic LocaLization Group to prepare for the coming changes. You can check out what we do at www.Well95490.org. I’ve written about one of our projects, Gold, Silver, Food: How to Survive the Coming Economic Collapse. 4. Commit to healing the important relationships in your life. We are social beings. When our important social relationships are dysfunctional or unhappy, we are vulnerable to all kinds of problems. As stress increases in the world, those people who have joyful relationships with their spouse, parents, children, cousins, friends, etc. will likely prosper. Those who do not are likely to have a much more difficult time. Recent research has shown the surprising ways in which our social relationships shape our lives. It’s never too late to heal a relationship that has been neglected. Remember, your life may depend on how close you are to your spouse, your parents, or your children. Most of us have one or two family members or friends where the relationship has become strained or broken. Don’t wait. Reach out and heal those relationships. You’ll be glad you did. 5. Learn to honor and respect those you most strongly disagree with. We can’t afford to live in a world where we see ourselves surrounded by enemies who we can never learn to get along with. Over the years I’ve worked with people who have done some of the most despicable things imaginable. They’ve killed, they’ve raped, they’ve tortured. Most of us are aware of the horrors that humans visit on their fellow human beings. But few of us have the opportunity to see the other side of the coin. We rarely get to know the perpetrator’s of violence and hear about their lives. As a therapist I can tell you that I’ve never found a person who has done horrible things to others who has not had horrible things done to them. That

doesn’t excuse or justify what they’ve gone. But knowing their story can help us better understand what lead to their destructive behavior and how we might be able to prevent future tragedy. James Gilligan, M.D. is director of the Center for the Study of Violence at Harvard Medical School. He has spent much of his professional life working in prisons treating some of the most violent offenders in the world. His experiences confirm that abuse can lead to deep seated wounds and a hunger to reverse the shame and humiliation these men feel. “I have yet to see a serious act of violence that was not provoked by the experience of feeling shamed and humiliated, disrespected and ridiculed,” he says. “For we misunderstand these men, at our peril, if we do not realize they mean it literally when they say they would rather kill or mutilate others, be killed or mutilated themselves, than live without pride, dignity, and self-respect.” If we can come to understand those people who do the most horrible and destructive things to others, we can learn to heal our wounds and create a more peaceful world. So if you want to live in a peaceful world, you need to learn to honor and respect those who you may disagree with. Believe me when I tell you that we can learn the most from those who stir up the strongest negative feelings in us. 6. Accept change and remain flexible. No one really knows what the world of the future will look like. We do know that it won’t be like the one we’ve been living in up until now. One of the most important writers teaching us how to free up our thinking and our feelings so that we can make the transition to this new world is Daniel Quinn. In 1992 Quinn wrote Ishmael, which won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship as the best work of fiction that would bring about a better world. Ishmael begins when the narrator answers an unusual newspaper ad: “Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person.” If you haven’t read Ishmael, I highly recommend it. In one of his follow up books, Beyond Civilization: Humanity’s Next Great Adventure Quinn says, “If we go on as we are, we’re not going to be around for much longer—a few decades, a century at most. If we’re still around a hundred years from now, it will be because we stopped going on as we are.” The wheels of “Civilization” are coming off and things are beginning to stop. In order to be around for the next chapter “beyond civilization” we are going to have to get increasingly comfortable with change. The serenity prayer, originally written by philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr, and adopted by Alcoholic’s Anonymous can be a powerful reminder of how to deal with change.

God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. There is also a humorous version for those of us who are getting older that I quite like as well: God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference. - author unknown 7. Get in shape. Those who survive the coming changes will be the ones who get healthy now. Surviving and thriving with the changes that are coming will require you to be at your very best—physically, emotionally, interpersonally, socially, economically, and spiritually. Like all pioneers you will face many difficulties in your new life. I want you to survive and prosper, but here’s what I’m seeing: • • • • • •

Most of you are overweight. Your big belly gets in the way. Most of you don’t have the aerobic capacity to run for your lives. Most of you aren’t strong enough to lift, push, and pull yourself out of harms way. Most of you are not flexible enough to live well in the world of the future. Most of you are so sleep deprived you are a danger to yourself and others. Most of you are so stressed out with daily survival you have little energy left for yourself and your family.

Listen, the truth may hurt, but the truth will also set you free. I may not have met you, but I know some things about you. You wouldn’t be reading these lines if you didn’t have a desire to change your life. You haven’t gotten this far without having the willingness, the courage, and the skill to make difficult changes. I think of our ancient ancestors who realized that food was becoming scarce in the environment where they had lived for countless generations and walked out of Africa. I think of my own ancestors who left Eastern Europe before the Nazis closed the escape routes. I think of the people who escaped from Cambodia ahead of the death squads of the Khmer Rouge. Many never left and died where they were. Of those who did have the courage to leave, only the fit survived. My commitment to you is to make you one of the survivors.

Most of us resolve to lose weight and get fit, but never follow through and actually do it. Why not make this the time to do it! Here’s a simple thing you can begin doing today—Start walking. It’s something everyone knows how to do. It doesn’t cost any money. It is easier on the joints than jogging and racquet sports. It’s safer than outdoor cycling. It’s more convenient than swimming. You don’t need any special clothes or equipment. You can do it by yourself or with others. And…It’s absolutely the best thing you can do to increase your chances to not only survive, but to thrive. Here are some of the proven benefits of walking: • • •

•

•

Reduces your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Helps you lose weight and keep it off. Improves brain structure and prevents Alzheimer’s disease. Walking promotes the preservation of brain cells and increases the connections between them. A study of more than 2,000 men over age 70 showed that regular walking reduced the development of dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease). Increases brain function. In a study of more than 18,000 female nurses, those who walked the most (at least 1.5 hours per week) scored higher on tests of general thinking ability, verbal memory, and attention than did women who walked the least (less than 40 minutes per week). In addition, the most active women were 20% less likely to be considered cognitively impaired. Walking improves your mental health by improving your mood, reducing anxiety, improving concentration, enhancing your view of yourself, improves sleep, and reduces stress.

Here’s my favorite walking quote: “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.” - Soren Kierkegaard 8. Practice mindfulness, meditation, and other stress relieving behaviors. Most of us feel increasing stress in our lives. We are more worried, irritable, and frustrated every day. We hope against hope that things will improve tomorrow, or next week, or next year. But it seems that we just get one part of our lives settled down and another crisis emerges. Perpetual stress is becoming a modern reality. And it’s likely to get worse. Here’s why.

All animals—including humans—have highly developed responses to stress. Imagine an impala being chased by a cheetah. The impala’s nervous and endocrine systems send electrical and chemical signals throughout the body that increase heart rate, redirect energy to the muscular and sensory systems, turn off digestion and reproduction, and produce steroids to help it heal from potential wounds. Everything going on is synchronized to prepare the animal to deal with the immediate threat. Now do a thought experiment. Imagine we chain the impala and cheetah to the ground so that the antelope is just out of reach. It’s in no danger, but it doesn’t know that, and it can’t escape from danger it thinks it’s in. Its stress response will continue without relief. It’s brain and endocrine system will keep pumping out the neurotransmitters and hormones associated with high arousal, which will eventually cause major problems—anxiety, depression, exhaustion, heart strain, and muscle fatigue. In today’s world, we are bombarded by constant stressors. They are not really deadly like the attack of a Cheetah, but we don’t know that. Our bodies and brains react to the stresses with our boss at work, fights with our spouses, and money worries in the same way as they would to real threats to our lives. "Humanity in the twenty-first century," says Dr. Richard O’Connor, author of Undoing Perpetual Stress, “is in the position of the chained impala. Our natural responses to stress are good for helping us escape from cheetahs, but not so helpful for dealing with stresses that are more chronic—traffic, difficult career choices, money troubles, family conflict…We have to live with the fact that our nervous systems have not changed much for 160,000 years, since the first modern human appeared. We’re not wired for the kinds of stress we face today." So how do we unchain ourselves from the perpetual stresses we face in our modern world? Walking or running, as I noted earlier, is a great stress reliever. You can also learn “mindfulness practices” beginning with simple breathing techniques. Here’s one I use every day. Sit in a comfortable position with the spine straight and your body relaxed. Gently close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Then let the breath come naturally without trying to influence it. Ideally it will be quiet and slow, but depth and rhythm may vary. To begin the exercise, count "one" to yourself as you exhale. The next time you exhale, count "two," and so on up to "five." Then begin a new cycle, counting "one" on the next exhalation. Never count higher than "five," and count only when you exhale. You will know your attention has wandered when you find yourself up to "eight," "12," even "19." Try to do 10 minutes of this form of meditation.

It’s simple, you can learn to do it anywhere and it’s wonderful for relieving stress. This exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. Unlike tranquilizing drugs, which are often effective when you first take them but then lose their power over time, this exercise is subtle when you first try it but gains in power with repetition and practice. Another benefit of relieving stress is that it will help you lose weight. According to Pamela Peeke, M.D., one of the world’s experts on stress and weight-loss, “When stress hits, various brain chemicals are released to help the body handle its physical response. One of those chemicals is a powerful appetite trigger.” Recent scientific studies show that high levels of cortisol caused by chronic stress have a deleterious effect on the body and can also give us a raging appetite. As Dr. Peeke has found, “It appears that one of cortisol’s major roles is to help refuel the body after each stress episode,” says Dr. Peeke. “Uncontrolled or Toxic Stress keeps the refueling appetite on, thus inducing stress eating and weight gain.” So, managing your stress levels will keep you calm, give you more energy, and help you take off pounds around the waist. 9. Get out of debt and resist the temptation to buy “stuff.” Debt-related stress leads to increasing number of health problems according to a recent Associated Press-AOL Health poll, “10 million to 16 million people are suffering terribly due to their debts, and their health is likely to be negatively impacted," says Paul J. Lavrakas, a research psychologist and AP consultant who analyzed the results of the survey. The current tough economic times and rising costs of living seem to be leading to increasing debt stress, 14 percent higher this year than in 2004, according to an index tied to the AP-AOL survey. Among the people reporting high debt stress in the new poll: -- 27 percent had ulcers or digestive tract problems, compared with 8 percent of those with low levels of debt stress. -- 44 percent had migraines or other headaches, compared with 15 percent. -- 29 percent suffered severe anxiety, compared with 4 percent. -- 23 percent had severe depression, compared with 4 percent. -- 6 percent reported heart attacks, double the rate for those with low debt stress. -- More than half, 51 percent, had muscle tension, including pain in the lower back. That compared with 31 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.

Remember the old system is built on the belief that the economy must grow and debt is a good thing because it allows those who own it to collect endless interest. I once talked to an international banker who told me why they make it so easy for people to get credit cards and go into debt. They make more money on the interest we pay on our debt than they do on the original purchases we make. Revolving consumer debt, almost all from credit cards, now totals $957 billion, compared with $800 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve. One of the best discussions of our economic system is offered by Chris Martenson, a research fellow at the Post Carbon Institute. He has developed a program he calls the Crash Course, which is free for all. I highly recommend you check it out. Fight back. Stop being a “consumer.” Cease and desist from buying more stuff you don’t really need. Little by little pay off what you owe. Engaging the healthy practices listed above will help. A significant life crisis like a major health problem drives many people into debt. But most of us get into debt a little at a time. Before you spend another dime, think of the words of Will Rogers: "Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." 10. Let go of our addiction to Empire and return to our roots in the Earth Community. Although I have been a scientist for most of my adult life, I recognize that much of the important things we need to learn in life come from our intuition. I’ve learned to trust these moments of insight. One such insight occurred for me in 1995 while sitting in a “sweat lodge” at a men’s conference in Indiana. I had a vision that showed me that the “ship of civilization” was sinking and a new way of life was emerging that would allow us to let go of our addictive practices that had developed over the last 5,000 years in which humans have tried to dominate the planet. That same year I read an important book, by David C. Korten, called When Corporations Rule the World. It showed clearly why our business practices were unsustainable and would likely crash. I’ve been following Korten’s work since then. Here’s how he describes his current thinking on his website. I believe it offers our best hope for the future. “We humans,” says Korten, “are Creation's most daring experiment with reflective consciousness. This gift is the source of our distinctive capacity to choose our future as an intentional collective act. For some 5,000 years, we have demonstrated our ability to use this capacity foolishly at an enormous cost to ourselves and to other living beings. We must now take the step to a new level of

species maturity and demonstrate our ability to act with collective wisdom and foresight. The Path to a New Economy For much of my adult life I have been embarked on a quest to understand the institutional sources of human dysfunction and map a pathway to positive change. Beginning with the launch of the book When Corporations Rule the World in 1995, my most widely read books have addressed the dysfunctions of a global economic system that values money more than life. For all the tragic pain created by the recent financial collapse, it is in the larger view a blessing as it demonstrates so conclusively that the economy we came to collectively worship as an engine of perpetual wealth creation was nothing more than an illusion based on massive fraud and self-deception. My most recent book, Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth exposes the truth and maps a path to a new real wealth economy. You can follow my New Economy blog on the YES! Magazine site. See also the ongoing YES! web feature "Path to a New Economy." The Great Turning The framework I find most useful in understanding the nature of the challenge before us is summarized in my article "The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community" in the Summer 2006 issue of YES! and in my book of the same name. See also my web essay "The Great Turning: Epic Passage." . We can change the human course by changing the framing stories of our dominant culture. The prevailing Empire stories celebrate the individualism, violence and greed that express the pathologies of our collective human immaturity, while denying the potentials for community, love, and nurturing service that define our more mature human nature. The turning from Empire to Earth Community depends on changing these stories through conversations that make public the transformative inner wisdom we posses as individuals. Institutional change will follow naturally. The companion website, Navigating the Great Turning, offers a rich source of ideas and resources for Great Turning Navigators who are working to turn the culture by changing its framing stories. As we look forward to the year 2012, we needn’t fear that the planet will be destroyed or that the earth will crumble under our feet. Certainly, there will be changes that will test our capacity to stay centered and move ahead with love and compassion. But I believe we have the opportunity to create a world that works for all men, women, and children, that works for all plants and animals, that works for the environment we all share.

It’s a great time to be alive. I look forward to our continued journey together. If you’d like to pursue these subjects in more depth, here is a reading list I have prepared. It’s the one I use when I’m training people to become “futures therapists.” Futures Therapist Course of Study: A Modest Proposal Most writers are avid readers and I'm no exception. However, my book shelf space is limited so I'm always giving away my books or donating them to the local library for their annual book sale. The books I keep over the years are ones that I find I go back to again and again. For those who would like to consider the profession of Futures Therapist, I offer the following reading list: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Baker, Carolyn. Sacred Demise: Walking the Spiritual Path of Industrial Civilizations Collapse. Baron-Cohen, Simon. The Essential Difference: The Truth About the Male & Female Brain. Buss, David M. The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating. DeMeo, James. Saharasia: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, SexRepression, Warfare and Social Violence in the Deserts of the Old World. Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Diamond, Jed. The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Key Causes of Aggression and Depression. Eisler, Riane. The Chalice & the Blade: Our History, Our Future. Gilligan, James. Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes. Gilmore, David D. Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity. Glendinning, Chellis. My Name is Chellis & I'm in Recovery from Western Civilization. Hanh, Thich Nhat. True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart. Heinberg, Richard. Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines. Hillman. James. The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling. Hoffman, Edward. The Right to Be Human: A Biography of Abraham Maslow. Homer-Dixon, Thomas. The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and The Renewal of Civilization. Hopkins, Rob. The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience. Jamison, Kay Redfield. An Unquiet Mind: Memoir of Moods and Madness. Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Korten, David C. The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Maisel, Eric. The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Person's Path Through Depression. Mander, Jerry. In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology & the Survival of the Indian Nations. Orlov, Dmitry: Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects. Petersen, John L. A Vision for 2012: Planning for Extraordinary Change. Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael. Satir, Virginia. Peoplemaking. Schmookler, Andrew Bard. Out of Weakness: Healing the Wounds That Drive Us to War. Shepard, Paul. Coming Home to the Pleistocene. Stewart, William B. Deep Medicine. The Institute for Psychohistory. The Journal of Psychohistory. Toffler, Alvin. Future Shock. Vaillant, George E. Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life. From the landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development. Van der Post, Laurens. A Story Like the Wind. Vincent, Norah. Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back Again. World Future Society. The Futurist (journal).

For me being a Futures Therapist is the world's best job. Every day I can counsel people on issues that really matter. I'm able to combine personal, interpersonal, community, and planetary healing. The world of the future has the potential to be truly wonderful. There seem to be two forces contending in the world today. One force is trying to hold us to the past, keeping us tied to a way of life that is not in balance with nature and is destructive to life. Another force is pulling us towards the future, to a world where humans live as part of nature and change comes at the speed of life, not at the frantic speed of chaotic destruction. We have a change, in our lifetimes, to create a world that works for all living things. If you are a Futures Therapist or are thinking of becoming one, drop and note and tell me about your interests. What books would you add to the list? Jed Diamond, Ph.D. [email protected] www.MenAlive.com