www.sangha.live, mostly an international onllne network of Buddhsit practitioners, kindly invited me to be a guest speaker on Sunday night (31 May 2020).
I spoke of the need for a revolution (inner and outer) required for a fundamental and unprecedented change in our way of life.
In the Q and A period, one person asked me to about useful books.
I said I would put on the blog by Wednesday 3 June, several books for suggested reading.. The majority of the books were written in the past decade or so.
I have read two out of three of these books and appreciate greatly the writings of the authors who have written the remaining books below.
These books give support to an essay I am preparing on the bigger picture of a global crisis in psychological/physical health, diet, consumerism, lifestyle, democracy, money, violence, relationship to creatures, large and small, the environment, resources, pollution, the billionaire class and a pointless political system.
Many of the writers of the books may not regard themselves as revolutionaries, of course.
We need the poets, artists, diarists, investigative journalists, independent scientists, thoughtful academics, non-violent campaigners,, researchers, whistle blowers , the deeply religious, those passionate for a noble life, and profound spiritual realisations..
We live in the Dark Ages
Read. Get informed. Dig out the Literature for a Revolution
Go beyond the politics and the dogma of the left, right and centre. That thinking belongs to the Middle Ages.
We live in the Dark Age. This requires co-operation of an immense degree, not the barking mad of those in the politics of conflict.
Connect with the networks worldwide engaged in creative initiatives for meaningful and endurable change., .
We need people who will put truth and integrity before self-interest.
We need a massive army of caregivers and agents of change.
Take risks for a noble way of life so you
Liberate your mind.
Liberate your voice.
Liberate your actions
Check out books.Â
Read, listen, learn.
Respond.
Serve.
Campaign
Stay awake.
May I recommend ‘Utopia for Realists (and How We Can Get There)’, by Rutger Bregman? It is a slow read, but very, very informative, as well as being an excellent introduction to modern economics.
Also, to comprehend where much of modern ‘dark age’ thinking comes from, read ‘Public Relations’, ‘Propaganda’, and ‘Crystallizing Public Opinion’, By Edward Bernays, the ‘father’ of modern ‘consumptionism’, (and the nephew of Sigmund Freud).