Bioneer,
In its essence, the natural world is a vast system of individual organisms working together, resulting in a thriving, verdant biosphere—everything, big or small, is connected. Western society, however, has excelled at nudging out the idea of interconnectedness in favor of singularity, compartmentalizing and categorizing everything from mental health and climate change to race and religion. The division and traumas caused by these constructs —from ongoing wars to environmental destruction—leave us in a state of conflict that must be addressed at its root. How can we harness our inner resilience to heal ourselves and our planet?
In this week’s newsletter, we explore the concepts of inner resilience and interconnectedness with the natural world and hear from thought leaders like author and activist Terry Tempest Williams and physician Dr. Gabor Maté about how our mental and physical well-being is tied to overall societal and environmental health.
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Person to Know: Terry Tempest Williams
A passionate activist and conservationist, Terry Tempest Williams is a long-time defender of our wildlands and a passionate advocate for peace, environmental and social justice, and freedom of speech. Her activism has taken many forms, from acts of civil disobedience on a nuclear test site to marching in the streets to testifying about women’s health before Congress. She’s also authored numerous celebrated books that illuminate the natural world and the human condition, including Refuge, Leap and Finding Beauty in a Broken World.
In this excerpt from Bioneers Co-Founder Nina Simons’ book Nature, Culture & the Sacred, Simons recounts a conversation she had with Williams in 2012. The two discuss Williams’ book When Women Were Birds, how women find their voices, and the relationship between inner reflection and outward activism. Read their conversation here. |
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Video to Watch: Co-Creating Alternative Spaces to Heal
Racialized violence injures all of us — not only those who are being “othered,” but also those who perpetuate that “othering.” These painful injuries happen on many levels, including on the individual, structural, and societal spheres, so healing must also happen on many levels, but we can’t truly heal these deep wounds while the injuries are still being perpetuated. Professor and Bioneers board member john a. powell, one of the world’s most important thinkers and scholars on civil and human rights, Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at U.C. Berkeley, explores how we can better understand the spaces we currently inhabit and strategize to co-create alternative spaces where real healing can truly begin. |
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This Week on Bioneers Radio & Podcast
Our physical health is intimately tied to environmental health, as well as to our emotional and spiritual ecology. Visionary physician Dr. Gabor Maté explores the deepest psychological, emotional and social forces leading to our society’s poor health and unhappiness. He says we have the capacity to heal both ourselves and the planet by reconnecting with our true nature as empathic, nurturing, social beings.
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Don’t Miss: Othering & Belonging Conference
From April 8 to 10 in Oakland, CA, don’t miss the opportunity to join the Othering & Belonging Conference, which will explore movements, systems and policies through a series of keynote addresses and breakout sessions with the goal of learning how to support a more fully inclusive “we.” Over three days you’ll have the chance to hear from youth leaders, scholars, artists, activists, policymakers and others—including Bioneers Co-Founder Nina Simons, pastor and social justice advocate William J. Barber, II and essayist and cultural critic Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah—speak on a variety of themes concerning the state of the world today, from rising authoritarianism and migration to technology and climate change. Find out more about the conference and get your ticket here! |
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What We’re Tracking:
Once again, a quiet renaissance of serious medical research has arisen to study the therapeutic benefits of LSD and other psychedelics, including overcoming addiction and depression, and easing the existential terror of terminal illness. In this episode of the Bioneers podcast, acclaimed journalist Michael Pollan shares his personal journey with psychedelics and explores the healing potential they could have.
In this essay from Perspective on Indigenous Issues, author and Indigenous Alaskan activist Ilarion (Larry) Merculieff explores how traditional, Elder wisdom can be used as a guide to solving modern challenges: “When Unangan Elders speak of the ‘heart’, they do not mean mere feelings, even positive and compassionate ones, but of a deeper portal of profound interconnectedness and awareness that exists between humans and all living things.”
With an eye to the future health of our planet, youth activists are creating an intersectional climate justice movement. This article from youth activist Maya details the incredible work youth across the globe are doing to raise awareness and hold leaders accountable, from confronting Senator Diane Feinstein on enacting the Green New Deal to Greta Thunberg’s strike in front of Swedish Parliament that inspired actions from students worldwide.
In his Bioneers 2018 keynote address, Charlie Jiang talks about his own experiences growing up in the US as the son of Chinese immigrants. As U.S. policy analyst at the Environmental Defense Fund, he also offers a unique perspective on the environmental and humanitarian crises we are currently facing, and what needs to be done to make the American Dream attainable for all. - Watch five empowering lectures from visionary women, including Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors and World Pulse founder Jensine Larsen, to learn how they use their own spaces in society and an intersectional approach to feminism, to incite change—and how you can too.
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