Author: jembendell

I'm a British national living in Indonesia. I am known for my work on societal collapse risk and response. That includes the Deep Adaptation paper and Breaking Together book. I cofounded Scholars’ Warning to help academics communicate about a post-Sustainability agenda for reducing harm in the face of catastrophic ecological change. I cofounded Bekandze Farm School to enable smallholders to switch to organic and resilient farming methods. Last year I quit my full Professorship to focus on deep adaptation to societal disruption and collapse.

“Water is Love”: restoring an ecological approach to climate change and beyond.

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Skeena Rathor was a founder-member of the campaign group Extinction Rebellion, which changed the conversation on climate change in 2019. The group called for carbon neutrality in Britain by 2025. So the growing global emissions and worsening climate has been generating some reflection amongst activists. I invited Skeena to share her experiences and why she is now focusing on the importance of water. In the following essay, she shows how we can experience nature and climate as part of us, and vice versa, so we meet the challenges of social and ecological breakdown in a more holistic way. We publish on World Water Day to encourage attention to a wonderful new documentary on this theme: Water Is Love. Over to Skeena…

Water is more than just H2O. For times immemorial, many Indigenous and other wisdom traditions have regarded water as a living, spiritual entity, as a medium connecting the physical world with the spiritual, and as an essential force that sustains all life. For example, the Akan people of West Africa see it as a divine energy, the Māori view rivers and lakes as living entities with spiritual significance and the Lakota tradition reveres water as “the first consciousness bestowed upon Mother Earth” (Tiokasin Ghosthorse).

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It’s The Empire, Stupid: Trump, Tariffs, the Dollar, Big Tech, EU Regs and CBDCs

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Behind the headlines that are naively pro- or anti- Trump, there is a not-so-hidden agenda from the US government to remove any threat to continued US hegemony via its dominance of monetary systems. This is occurring in a context where the oil-backed dollar will not have the same power in decades to come. That means attempts are underway to secure future financial control in our digital era, where a handful of large companies have immense power. With this imperial agenda in mind, it is possible to predict future policy moves and consider how we wish to respond in our own lives and work.

To begin with, it is important to recognise the economic context we live within. The world is experiencing a new variant of capitalism, where a handful of international corporations control digital territory. In this internet age, it means they increasingly control our means of communication, trade and financial transaction. Some people think this is better described as ‘techno-feudalism’, rather than a more virulent form of monopolistic international capitalism. That term encourages us to recognise our subtle enslavement to corporations, and their executives, who increasingly influence our perceptions and behaviours.

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Global Justice Starts at Home

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I invited Malika Virah-Sawmy to share her reflections on the changes in approaches to international solidarity at a time of rising poverty and political disquiet in Western nations, as well as the degradation of the global environment. I met Malika through working on Deep Adaptation, and she served for a time as a holding group member of the DA Forum. I hope you find her perspective important for your own efforts.

Witnessing the political saga in many Western countries over the past year gives the impression of deep political upheaval. As inflation persists and family budgets become increasingly strained, frustration is manifesting in various ways. Elites are promoting narratives that shift attention away from exploitative economic systems. That means migrants like myself, refugees, and even bureaucrats are blamed – but never the rich. It leaves me wondering what politics will rise after people wake up to this false dawn promised by the xenophobes and anti-bureaucrats. Because it can’t take that long for people to realise their pay hasn’t increased and their bills haven’t decreased as a result of backing the opportunist politicians. At that point, the path might be open for more meaningful engagement with the difficulties in this era of ‘permacrisis’. If you are not satisfied with the ideas from your political leaders and pundits, then I’d like to offer an outside perspective. It is a view that might not only help citizens in the West, but also help people in less wealthy regions of the world.

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Indigenous Wisdom for an Era of Collapse

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[NB: two places have become available on the last online course Leading Through Collapse that I’ll teach, starting Mar 17th – apply before 3rd Mar]

I’m noticing increasing Western engagement with Indigenous teachings and elders. One reason might be that as people wake up to societal collapse, they reconsider deep assumptions in their culture, and are open to learn more from the wisdoms of Indigenous cultures. That seems like a great thing, but, like anything, there are both benefits and pitfalls. It’s something I’ve mused on for a while, so I’d like to share a few thoughts with you.  

For decades, some strands of the Western environmental movement cited the wisdom of Indigenous cultures, from Aboriginal Australians to Native Americans, and many places in between. Then, like me, they largely failed to integrate such wisdom into life choices and professional or political activity. Even the environmentalists who work in solidarity with Indigenous peoples have tended to bring their own assumptions and interests which then distort the teachings, insights and ways of being in the world. That is not only due to modernist ideologies of progress, hope, and happy endings, but also from the distortions that can come from privilege. Let’s face it, the middle classes and elites tend to be the ones in the West who make time to learn from Indigenous cultures. The theories of social change favoured by the privileged anywhere tend to be that education, awareness and reform are what matters. That makes organising to resist and reclaim power to meet basic needs and aspirations in more independent and self-reliant ways a secondary concern, if at all. I know of that strategic preference because my past career was shaped by it. Without these filters, I wonder what more we could learn from listening to, and experiencing with, those people who live with a different cosmology, and who experience life differently to our urban commercial norms.

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Sacred Fevers – Always One (Om Mani Padme Hum)

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Sometimes fevers have been a psychological medicine for me. They force me to stop, which eventually makes me reflect on life. But that’s not the only impact. The delirium from a raised body temperature and cytokines involves an altered state of consciousness. Feelings can bubble up and new perspectives appear. Without my fevers, I might not have taken some of the ‘sharp turns’ of direction in my life. That doesn’t mean I welcome illness, for myself or anyone else. But I now recognise that when we get sick we can welcome potential insights from an altered state of consciousness, as a silver lining to what is otherwise a worrying, painful and boring experience. Why people like me need something as dramatic as a high fever to discover new meanings and directions in life is an interesting question. More on that later. But first I want to share with you a few stories of fevers, which led to me writing my latest song: Always One (Om Mani Padme Hum).

My last high fever happened a few days after I had been bitten by a dog. I had been saying goodbye to the head of the Buddhist Temple, and his dog seemed friendly until I responded with a pat on his head (the dog’s). I doused the wound in iodine, bound it, and said goodbye, leaving with a question in my mind about whether they should keep the dog away from the guests. It was an odd way to end a meditation retreat – a reminder of the random ups and downs of life. Later that day I waited with apprehension for a reply to my whatsapp to the Temple office. “Yes, the dog has been vaccinated for rabies” came the reply. When home, I began searching what the disease risks might be and looking up when I’d last had vaccinations for tetanus and rabies. I discovered I was a couple of years past the time when boosters are recommended. I then discovered the good news that tetanus isn’t as bad as I’d thought, whereas rabies is worse – once you have a fever you will certainly die within weeks. Fortunately, there were no signs of infection at the wound site, and I felt fine, so I decided to do nothing; a decision which I’d wonder about later.

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No Rogan on a Dead Planet – and other essays

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Both mainstream media and the newly powerful alternative media aren’t incentivised to present the realities of either climate chaos or societal collapse. We see the consequences of that in the poor quality of discussion around the wildfires in Los Angeles. Examples included the unchallenged dismissal of climate change on an episode of Joe Rogan, which reaches tens of millions of people. More extreme than that were widespread conspiracy theories of am evil cabal with (not-yet-available) weapons choosing to destroy neighbourhoods. It can be easier for onlookers to imagine evil people than face a painful predicament that will eventually engulf them as well. Which is why such nonsense gains an audience, even amongst otherwise intelligent people. There are real consequences from this, as the agendas of both climate adaptation and deep adaptation are sidelined from conversation – so the opportunity to reduce harm in future is foregone for many. What to do about it is the topic of an essay I penned last week – “No Rogan on a Dead Planet.” I explain that the importance of free speech means that all of us, and our governments, should encourage more self regulation from content providers and platforms, and then systematise that with international standards. That means podcasters need to accept that with their increasing influence comes greater responsibility and opportunity to lead the sector. To my knowledge, this is a different angle to the current debate about government and BigTech censorship versus an entirely hands-off approach.  

That essay was the latest in a series with the -zine Brave New Europe over the last 3 years. Below I list my previous essays with summaries – all on climate and the environment. 

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Should Deep Adaptation spaces be discussing contentious social issues that are (arguably) not directly related to collapse? 

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Sometimes people object to any discussions of politics, pandemics, wars, racism, or gender, in Deep Adaptation fora. The ‘little’ matters of ecological destruction and the collapse of societies are stressful enough, even before airing any of our disagreements about politics or current affairs. Consequently, some people wish for a place where such topics are avoided, so the discussion is limited to how to help each other emotionally and practically. Some groups in the Deep Adaptation movement even make it explicit that politics should not be discussed. However, I’ve said for a few years that I think that such a position is no longer tenable, with the issue now being how such conversations can be well held, so they advance understanding rather than discord. That is simply because collapse has been shaped by politics and will be made better or worse by politics in future. Additionally, contentious social issues involving inequality, gender, race, neurodivergence, health and human rights, amongst others, don’t become irrelevant just because societies are fracturing. In fact, for many people such matters can become more important, as they wish to maintain their values and reduce suffering as situations become more difficult. I’ve wondered over the years if we don’t try to apply the ethos of Deep Adaptation to matters of policy and power then how robust is our commitment to that ethos? 

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Busting Assumptions on Aliens and the Fate of Life on Earth

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Since 2017, there has been more official disclosure of government records and reports of UFOs. It’s still a taboo subject in much of the news media, so the level of public discussion is limited, and being concerned with their reputation, most scholars have kept quiet about it. I was made to comment on this topic, out of the blue, when I was interviewed for Ubiquity University. I had been invited to talk about societal collapse risk and readiness, but the host Jim Garrison had just heard important news from Washington DC about official investigations into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). I fumbled my way through an answer, as someone who has always been agnostic on their existence or not. However, since then, I’ve read reports, seen the military videos, heard eye-witness testimony from senior officials, and realise that the UFO phenomenon, that’s now called UAPs, does indeed exist. I have also begun to hear people who are deeply concerned about our ecological predicament now wondering if aliens could help us. If this is the first time you hear about that, you might think it nuts – such is the stigma. But I’m increasingly asked for a view on the matter. So to avoid repeating myself in correspondence, here is a blog!

Dipping my toe in this field I have noticed a lot of entrepreneurial writers, entertainers, mediums, new age spiritualists, on the one hand, and military personnel on the other. That means it is a field where there are wild claims, illogical inferences, staged performances, and defensive mindsets. But there are also people who have braved ridicule, or risked their careers, to engage publicly about this topic. Just because there have been charlatans, and will be more to come, does not mean smart people should ignore the matter altogether.

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Final call for the last ‘Leading Through Collapse’ online courses

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Happy New Year. One of my resolutions involves stepping back from my role as an advocate scholar on unfolding societal disruption and collapse. Over the past year I’ve written a lot and travelled a lot to promote what I consider to be thoughtful and caring responses to our predicament. Working on this topic full time isn’t easy: it is huge, heavy, and regularly attracts anger in response (from Berlin to Tasmania!). I feel grateful for the many people I have met or heard from who have positively changed, or are changing, their lives as a result of the analysis I shared over the last 6 years. But I also know that my views on the patterns of thought and behaviour that got us into this mess appear too radical for many. The most recent reminder of that are some responses to my previous essay about the Pope’s Xmas message on hope. The time it took to explain what I didn’t say, rather than what I did say, was a good reminder to focus in future on where there is resonance and synchronicity.

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Christianity and Hope – when the Pope does hopium, what do the mystics do?

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For anyone who has grown up in a Christian country, the past week can be a time for reflection on values and purpose. It can be a moment where we find calm away from the rush of our normal lives and re-assess. Any religious festival can provide us with that opportunity, if we are open to that. On religious occasions like Christmas and Easter, people exposed to Western media will read or hear about what The Pope says about the world. So that’s why I heard the Pope’s new message on hope in difficult times. My discomfort about his message meant I shared some thoughts on social media, which generated feedback and dialogue. Rather than repeating myself in comments on those threads, I thought I’d write a post about ‘Christianity and Hope’ on my blog… so here goes.

The Pope’s message seemed to be asking us all to have hope in a better tomorrow. But he went much further than that, when claiming that hope for a materially better situation in the world is a requirement and concomitant with being loving towards others. He wrote:

“Those who love, even if they find themselves in uncertain situations, always view the world with a gentle gaze of hope.”

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