In Correspondence #2
Welcome to another In Correspondence! So, what have I been up to since last time?
Extinction Rebellion! I set up and co-hosted the wellbeing space at the Marble Arch camp. I also spent time at the other sites at Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Parliament Square; helped to facilitate the people’s assembly that decided the fate of the Pink Boat; and shook my booty to Massive Attack.
Check out this touching video of the Waterloo Uprising.
Nice cartoon from the FT:
I attended the Climate Change & Consciousness conference at the Findhorn Foundation, where I hosted a session on Psychedelics, Extinction & Social Change and had the pleasure of meeting Charles Eisenstein and many other brilliant thinkers
I’ve just got back from a couple of days in the Cairngorms National Park. Did you know that since 1952, the UK has been home to (semi-)wild reindeer?
I’ve lived in London almost a decade now, and I’m considering a move to either Stroud (‘the gentle Cotswold town that spawned a radical protest’) or Totnes (home of the brilliant Schumacher College). Let me know if you hear of any interesting opportunities…
Upcoming engagements
Tomorrow, Sunday 28th April: A screening of Symbiotic Earth (highly recommended film on the life and work of Lynn Margulis)
This Wednesday, 1st May: An introduction to Autopia
8th June: The Oddball
23rd June: I’ll be speaking alongside Rupert Sheldrake and Robin Carhart-Harris at the Psychedelic Society’s biggest public event to date. Expect a free-flowing, generative dialogue on topics likely to include:
– Modes of use of psychedelics: medical, therapeutic, spiritual, recreational
– Theories of consciousness and the interpretation of the mystical/spiritual type experience
– Personal, social and political consequences of spiritual experience
– The metamodern view of science
– Ecological crisis and the role of plant psychedelics
– Antirivalry, antifragility and abundance11-15 July, Noisily Festival: Integration Through Social Action
16-18 August, Breaking Convention: Psychedelics, Extinction and Social Change
What I’ve been reading & listening to
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
From Egoism to Ecoism: Psychedelics and Nature Connection | Sam Gandy | TEDxOxford
World's second largest emperor penguin colony 'disappears overnight'
Emissions from thawing Arctic permafrost may be 12 times higher than thought, scientists say
FTP094: Douglas Rushkoff - Rethinking Transhumanism and Reuniting Humanity
FTP093: Douglas Rushkoff - Why Technology Needs to be on 'Team Human'
Miki Kasthan - The Inseparability of Psychological and Social Transformation
Endangered turtle returns to beach to lay its eggs only to find runway has been built
Ep. 127 "All Hands On Deck" Extinction Rebellion with Gail Bradbrook and Clare Farrell
Black hole picture captured for first time in space breakthrough
Charles Eisenstein and Ian MacKenzie on The Age of Transition/112
Mystery of how animals with no mouths or guts stay alive revealed
Burger King’s plant-based Whopper gets glowing review – from a meat lobbyist
Tiny toadlets from Brazilian rainforest have fluorescent skeletons, scientists discover
FTP092: Rupert Sheldrake - Paradigm Shifts in Science and Experiments in Consciousness
Daniel Schmactenberger on Charles Eistenstein’s podcast (highly recommended)
Do you appreciate my work?
Then you’re welcome to chip in $5/month via Substack and follow me on Facebook. You may also be interested in the Stephen Reid In Dialogue Facebook group.
Until next time, with love,
Stephen