Support The Work
Support The Work

We are a caring community of practice
devoted to evolving
a compassionate ecologically sustainable world.

We aim to inspire public commitment

to transform our ecologically destructive system

...and back off from the prospect of nuclear war.

This is the challenge of our time!

No one group can have the necessary reach on its own.

It will take a multitude of us.

We would like to think you will want to work with us.

We aim to win!

A majority of people are concerned about climate change, species loss, microplastics and more. Yet humanity seems paralyzed, as business as usual continues to take us to a disastrous future. Major ecological indicators are getting worse, and we seem to be on track for nuclear war.
Turning things around, to the extent still possible, requires a profound shift in people’s aspirations and understanding… leading to passionate commitment to doing everything required to pull out of our ecological nosedive.
Evolutionary Catalysts foster this shift. We aim to win… which is to say, we aim to succeed in mobilizing thoughtful public will to transform our destructive system. Nothing less will do.

NOTE: As you scroll through this website you will see variety of ideas that are largely novel to the environmental-progressive movement. Together, they add up to a new paradigm for social change based on improving people’s mental and emotional functioning. This is what it will take to evolve a viable society.

Aligning to magnify our collective influence

No one group can have the necessary influence on its own. It will take a multitude of us aligned to a goal that is bigger than all of us.
The good news is that There are millions of groups that care about social and ecological well-being.
However, as a movement we are fragmented. Each group does its own thing. We preach to our own choirs, and have no coordinated means of reaching the general public. However, we can make a common cause through the overarching goal of evolving a compassionate ecologically sustainable world, and inspiring our members to act as transformational communicators. We call people who do this Evolutionary Catalysts. Groups can align with this goal while passionately pursuing their primary missions.

LATEST STORIES

Recent Posts

The power of personal conversations

Our aim is to help people think realistically and comprehensively about current ecological trends and their consequences, with a view to mobilizing public will to doing everything required to pull out of our ecological nosedive. We think the best way to do this is through personal conversations, even though this is time-consuming
This is because people’s worldviews and habits of thought are well-established. They do not change easily. They are relatively hardwired in the central nervous system through the long process of growing up, education, exposure to media and cultural influences, Personal inquiry, and possibly religious training.
You may have noted that messages bounce off unprepared minds. People take in what they are prepared to hear, and often resist new ideas.
By arranging dedicated time for a thoughtful conversation we can create the opportunity for people to consider new perspectives, and perhaps modify their worldviews.
Such a conversation can be initiated by simply asking people to meet for a cup of coffee and a serious conversation. This is an important role for Evolutionary Catalysts. We provide tools to make such conversations succinct and effective.

The big challenge
Recognizing that we need to slow the economy

We live in a globalized civilization that is ecologically self-destructing. The destruction is driven by devotion to economic growth, more population than the planet can continue to support, and expectations of affluence. This cartoon by Tony Biddle captures the system that drives our destruction.
We need to transform this system sufficiently that we operate within the Earth’s capacity to support us. This means significantly reducing industrial production globally. It follows that. If we are to avoid the worst of coming disasters, we must significantly slow the global economy. Of course, virtually nobody wants to slow the economy. This is one reason why personal conversations are so important; people have to think this through. Simultaneously we have to evolve beyond militarism.

Avoiding nuclear annihilation

Almost too horrible to contemplate is the fact that we appear to be headed towards nuclear annihilation. All developed nations are increasing their military expenditures. We have entered a new arms race.
In an age of unstoppable hypersonic nuclear missiles, what can we expect from this? Can we expect a benign outcome for humanity? Or at some point, whether by accident, miscalculation, or madness, will the first nuclear missiles be launched, the counter strikes launched… and our global civilization end in a paroxym of nuclear annihilation?
The trend is ominous. Evolutionary Catalysts aim to break the cultural trance that has us on track for nuclear war by helping people come to terms with what war actually means in our age of hypersonic nuclear weapons.

Cultivating emotional well-being

People who are happy in themselves do not need excess consumption. Nor do they readily instigate wars.For many, unresolved childhood trauma fosters underlying rage and cruelty. This can play out as domestic violence – and the drive towards war. A key leverage point for evolving a compassionate society is to raise happy children. We can act on this by investing in supporting new parents in learning how to bring out more of their nurturing side than their punitive side. Some Evolutionary Catalysts champion such programs. Of course, racism, living in sacrifice zones, and wars are traumatizing.
Some Evolutionary Catalysts introduce people to techniques they can use to resolve their own emotional triggers.

A manual is here.

The psychological implications of trauma are not just personal. Some people with unresolved
trauma willingly destroy the environment and beat the drums for war. Given current ecological trends and the march towards nuclear war, humanity’s long-term survival requires cultivating emotional well-being at every level.

Core communication tools

We have four core communication tools. More specialized communication tools are in the Tactics section. 

Escalating Disasters

The purpose of Escalating Disasters is to raise the alarm – ideally to induce a temporary feeling of panic. We are in an existential emergency; the future looks grim; we need to go all out to change course.

WAR

These images aim to bring home to people the reality of what full-scale war in the nuclear age means. It will be horrible.

 

Download here

CLIMATE

Through personal experience and watching the news, a majority people are concerned about climate change. Even so, it’s worth having a conversation to break through people’s numbness.

 Download here

INDUSTRIAL TOXINS

We are hearing more about forever chemicals. We are poisoning ourselves.

 Download here

DYING OCEANS

Many people are aware of ocean acidification. In addition, we are poisoning the surface microlayer – the thin web of life that is the basis of the oceanic food chain.

Download here

The complete set of Escalating Disasters can be downloaded here.

Kitchen Table Conversations

Kitchen Table Conversations enable people to grasp the system the drives our destruction. People connect-the-dots between ecological damage, economic growth, population and … not usually included in climate conversations… unresolved trauma as a driver of excess consumption and environmental damage.

Kitchen Table Conversations tools are here.

Outreach Conversations

The slide deck can be downloaded here.

Our Outreach Conversation is useful for engaging leaders, influencers, and potential colleagues. Starting with concern about climate change, we expand our vision to include the system the drives ecological damage across the board, and the idea of a multitude of groups of aligning to affect public consciousness.

Improving emotional functioning

Based on clinical experience, modern psychotherapists assert that each of us has a benign core of goodness. Buddhists, of course, have maintained this for millennia. But this core of goodness can be obscured by pain, hurt and rage from unresolved childhood trauma.

Some Evolutionary Catalysts introduce people to tools they can use to resolve their own emotional triggers. A manual is here.

Become a Colleague

We would be thrilled if you would become a colleague in the League of Evolutionary Catalysts! We are a community of practice devoted to transforming our destructive culture. We affect people’s attitudes and understanding, with the bold intention of mobilizing thoughtful public will to transform our ecologically destructive system. Nothing less will do! A small learning curve is involved. It’s not hard.
We ask that you do a practice run with:

This will give you a feel for these tools. We also ask that you read:

The process concludes with a Review Conversation to help you integrate the ideas, and also connect with another colleague in the League.
Once you become a colleague, nobody directs what you do. We all act as self-responsible adults committed to a common purpose. We are all busy with multiple responsibilities. We do not expect acting as an Evolutionary Catalyst to take over your life (although our times do demand that we go beyond what we may have thought we could do). We host biweekly community calls, and occasionally some of us focus on larger projects.
Our Evolutionary Catalyst onboarding folder has everything you need.
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