by John Fullerton
Kosmos Journal, Fall | Winter 2015

“There is nothing more difficult to plan, nor more dangerous to manage, than the creation of a new system. For the creator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old system and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would gain by the new one.” – Niccolò Machiavelli

Einstein once said, “It is the theory which decides what we can observe.”

I believe this assertion holds both truth and great wisdom. Its macro importance is trivial when the world operates according to a theory that fits the context of the times. Its importance becomes paramount when the world is running on a theory that no longer fits the realities at hand. NOW is such a time.

by Elizabeth Kucinich and Dennis Kucinich
Kosmos Journal, Fall | Winter 2015

In his powerful essay on Regenerative Capitalism, John Fullerton describes breakthrough thinking, which moves us away from ideological divides that tether us to a worldwide economy that is destructive of human values to a system that supports people and planet, in the vein of Paul Hawken and Amory Lovins.

Conventional economic design places us at the mercy of abrupt climate change and social and ecological collapse. Regenerative systems, through their implicit design, do just the opposite. They recover, restore, and regenerate.

We can lament the impending calamity or we can thwart it by discerning the universal principles and patterns the cosmos uses and applying them as a regenerative, healing model for economic design “to build stable, healthy systems throughout the real world.” Regeneration is a big step beyond sustainability. It is a consciousness that will enable us to design systems we want, to create the world we want.

via New Story Hub | Findhorn Foundation
photo, Rhonda Fabian | Bayo Akomolafe, Charles Eisenstein and Manish Jain

Kosmos is delighted to share the news of a new film coming soon. An Enquiry into a New Story for Humanity, is the resulting documentary film of an extraordinary gathering that took place in the Autumn of 2014. The New Story Summit at the Findhorn Foundation was attended by change makers and activists from over 50 countries, including a delegation from Kosmos. A number of professional filmmakers, including Ian MacKenzie, Nick Agnos, and our own digital editor Rhonda Fabian, among others, gifted their skills during the summit and conducted a series of interviews with key speakers, each carrying a thread of the new story.

By David Bollier, via evonomics.com

The truth about the tragedy of the commons:

“Picture a pasture open to all.”

For at least a generation, the very idea of the commons has been marginalized and dismissed as a misguided way to manage resources: the so-called tragedy of the commons. In a short but influential essay published in Science in 1968, ecologist Garrett Hardin gave the story a fresh formulation and a memorable tagline.

“The tragedy of the commons develops in this way,” wrote Hardin, proposing to his readers that they envision an open pasture:

In the current edition of Kosmos Journal:

by Dianne Grob

“This renewal would not have been possible if we had not allowed old structures to collapse; if we had not been willing to experience and endure the anxiety and uncertainty of not knowing what the future held; if we had not been willing to break and allow new, unfamiliar structures in ourselves and each other to emerge. Today, we stand on a new shore.

This relentless and repeated breaking apart, mending, and ultimate renewal of our marriage is not unlike what we face in the larger culture today. Something in that culture also ‘wants’ to happen; something is trying to break down in order that something may break out.”

Dylan Charles, Editor of Waking Times has crafted an interesting list of 18 Human Qualities Most Needed to Advance the Global Awakening.

“Reality is anything but fixed, it is created again and again, re-defined from moment to moment as a product of the behavior and choices of all sentient beings. For certain, we are more powerful than we yet know, and each one of us is indeed an actor on the same stage, all of us with the ability to impact and contribute to the story.” – Dylan Charles

What qualities would you revise or add?