Excerpt | The Unselfish Spirit
by Mick Collins
Human occupation and spiritual emancipation
Our actions in the world at this time of great transformation mean that processes of co-creation are not only about what each of us does to make a difference in our own lives, but also take into account what we do together – with others – to live with a new understanding of responsibility.26 The idea of co-creating an improved…
Reader’s Essay | Fully Alive through Connection
By Will Scott
I used to think the feeling of being fully alive only came in exceptional moments: A near-death experience, a triumphant achievement, an orgasm, a time of great loss, an instance of inexplicable synchronicity, a moment in love, being in the ‘zone’ or on the edge of some great something towards which you know you must move… Or that one time, when the thunderstorm and the sunset…
Poem | It Is I Who Must Begin, by Václav Havel
It Is I Who Must Begin
It is I who must begin.
Once I begin, once I try --
here and now,
right where I am,
not excusing myself
by saying things
would be easier elsewhere,
without grand speeches and
ostentatious gestures,
but all the more persistently
-- to live in harmony
with the "voice of Being," as I
understand it within myself
-- as soon as I begin that,
I suddenly discover,……
Deep Connection
Dear Reader,
Where are you most deeply connected - to your child, a lover, to nature, your faith? Like a tree that is only as strong as its roots, each of us relies on deep connection to nourish and make meaning of our lives. This edition of Kosmos Online explores the sense of connectedness that enlivens and empowers us. Is it the key to igniting the transformations needed in these troubling…
Peacebuilding and Democracy in a Turbulent World
By Dot Maver
Kosmos is always on the lookout for cutting edge thinking, theory and practice from a global transformation and solutions-oriented perspective. The field of peacebuilding, part of this emerging new story, has been developing for a number of decades now and last week we were present for meetings with academics and participated in the three-day Alliance for Peacebuilding Conference…
What makes you feel alive ?
The sound of Your step walking over me, I feel it's every movement. I am buried beneath you and you have forgotten. I long too call out to you but you move so fast, I can no more trust my voice will be heard. I created a song so alive the birds at the first Ray of Light sing out this sweetness, but you made sounds to drown me. Have you forgotten ?
Your first step was filled with a light that…
Wind Sand
At the beach for a day and a half. Empty, desolate, with big unbroken shells. For no one is collecting them. The sun filtering though tattered clouds of endless varieties of grey with orange and turquoise shadows. Broken reflections in the water, adding even more imperfect beauty, always on the move. Everything flows. A big young brown seagull sees a flock of grey-white seagulls and lands among…
Evolution’s Paradox: why we ignore Climate Change
Humankind has much to celebrate. Our intellect has taken us
to the moon, deciphered the code that defines us and created sublime works of
art and music. But our intellect has also delivered us the means of our own
destruction.
In the last few hundred years we have not only invented the
means of exploiting fossil fuels, but we have also developed the economic and
political…
Addressing World Hunger
How can we feed the world? By 2050, the world population is expected to surpass 9 billion. 80 million more people are to be fed each year, while one billion already go to bed hungry. Such challenge baffles world leaders. However, knowing a solution to address this big challenge makes me truly alive. Through organic cassava farming, the farmers of Zamboanga del Sur can show to the world how to…
A Simple Practice of Reconnecting
Offhand, I can think of some really wonderful moments that make me feel truly alive: like holding a newborn baby, feeling the wind on my face while out on my dad’s sailboat, playing the piano while singing with a group of elderly or handicapped people; working in a garden, and naturally, sex! The problem with all of these examples is that they are only fleeting moments, and usually it is quite…