Kosmos Quarterly Fall 2018
So what then might the opposite of consume be? I might have suggested, fasting, ‘getting rid of’, or a form of austerity. But the definition, “destruction by separating into parts”, is all too appropriate, so the opposite must be something like ‘reassembling toward life.’ – Nora Bateson
Article Keynote…
A Call to Global Unity | Rick Ulfik and the Power of “We”
By Rev. Deborah Moldow, Founder, Garden of Light
The stars had already begun to peek through the clouds overhanging the Taihang Mountains when the piano finally appeared on the patio that would serve as our stage for the little concert. Would the sound system work? Could I sing through my jet lag? Would the Chinese guests enjoy the Broadway selections? There was no time for all of these…
Fabrice Monteiro
Fabrice Monteiro (b. 1972, Belgium/Benin) is a photographer, whose images question, in subtle and often symbolic ways, “the evolution of black identity through history.” Engaging with issues of sustainability, mythology, West-African masquerades or Mouridism, his aesthetic taps into photo-reportage, fashion photography and traditional studio portraiture.
Birthing the Interconnected Self
An Interview with Joanna Macy, via Tellus Institute and The Great Transition Initiative
In a world of spiraling ecological and social crises, where does one find hope? Eco-philosopher Joanna Macy talks with Tellus Senior Fellow Allen White about how understanding the interdependence of our world prepares us for the fight to improve it.
You are one of the best known scholars joining systems…
Connecting Seen and Unseen Worlds
Dear Reader,
We live in the seen-world and the unseen. Although our eyes can't detect them, a million microbes fit on the head of a pin. And in our bodies, billions of chemical reactions occur in our living cells every moment. Dark matter, quantum states - we only know there is much to know.
Almost every spiritual tradition teaches of unseen realms, whether inhabited by angels or ancestors;…
Changing the Story of Separation
By Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, via The Garrison Institute
“The only way to change the world is to change the story.”
We know only too well the story that defines our world today. It is a tale of consumerism and greed, sustained by the empty but enticing promise of an endless stream of “stuff” as the source of our happiness and well-being. Some of us are finally coming to recognize the…
Technical Challenges, and a Gift
Dear Friends of Kosmos,
For several weeks Kosmos has struggled with one technical challenge after another:
Some of you had trouble accessing your subscription to the Quarterly...
Or you tried to submit your writing and art without success...
Also, the website was up one day and down the next.
We have found instances of malicious code, and what has been described as 'infinitely repeating…
The Transcendent Moment
Dear Reader,
When did the world break open for you and reveal its radiant light?
I'm guessing we all have had fleeting revelatory glimpses of the sublime, the numinous. Sometimes it takes great loss or crisis to trigger the moment of grace. For author Nathalie Legros, it was a parent's worst nightmare - a crash that scattered her children's bodies on a highway in Belgium. You can read her…