If there’s one person who has been the Indie Press champion of overthrowing the old story and bringing in the new, it’s Charles Eisenstein. His name has popped up on my blog a couple of times for his inspiring articles in Resurgence, so when he made his appearance in Edinburgh, post-New Story Summit, I promptly boughtt a ticket.
That was well over a week ago, and although the event was inspiring, I’ve struggled to find something coherent to write about it. This partly stems from the style of Charles’ talk. He did not arrive at St John’s Church with a ready-made speech. Instead, he asked four people in the audience why they had come and used their responses as a springboard to jump off of. The result was a rambling talk full of interesting insights but not something that can be summarised in under 500 words.
He did give quite a bit of attention to our being at a transition point. We stand at the edge of what the old story of separation can achieve. We know it is no longer serving the best interests of the Earth or its inhabitants, human or otherwise. We’re teetering on that edge, gathering the courage to launch ourselves into a new story, one of interconnection or even of interbeing, but we haven’t quite got around to leaving our comfort zone yet.
A week later what has stayed with me are a set of sound bites to mull over. These memes have the potential to help me through this storied transition, I’m sure of it, but at the moment I’m still mulling. In the meantime, I’ve ordered a copy of The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible.
Top three thought bites from Charles Eisenstein in Edinburgh, 5th of October, 2014 (paraphrased):
- Synchronicity is an invitation to be part of changes you do not know how to make yourself.
- You can’t push the idea, you can only serve the idea
- A miracle is something that is impossible when look at from the old worldview/story, but perfectly possible in the emerging new worldview
Charles’ Edinburgh talk was sponsored by The Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre and The Salisbury Centre
Restorying the Earth 
Hi Alette! Sounds very spiritual! Interesting that this message is coming at us from so many different perspectives (even scientific ones now). I am really enjoying all the synchronicities as they are presented but will now look at them as opportunities for collaboration. “Serving the idea” seems to me to parallel the art of detachment – being in the flow. Must have been an incredible talk and sounds like lots to mull over.
As an aside (but I also see it as related), I heard Douglas Coupland being interviewed on the CBC last week on his new book Kitten Clone and it was interesting to hear his take on the state of the world now and how the internet has shaped it (and us). Those growing up with the internet think of it as the real world. (Here’s the interview: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/The+Current/ID/2547265067)
Also saw this from the NCC: “Storytelling Through Expeditions” and thought of you:
http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/ontario/get-involved/nature-talks-london.html
Hope you are enjoying autumn!
Hi Kif,
Thanks for sending these links on. Unfortunately this comment got lost in spam and I only just found it today as I’ve been brushing off the virtual cobwebs from my website. Sadly the CBC link is no longer active, but the event listing for Brett Rogers was still there. Looks like an interesting talk. It’s so critical in these times to bring out the stories we can tell with nature and not just about nature. All good wishes, Alette