Inspiration & Motivation for
A New Republic of the Heart
The New Republic of the Heart non-profit organization was inspired and guided by the life’s work of Terry Patten crafted in his book A New Republic of the Heart: An ethos for revolutionaries — A guide to inner work for holistic change
“A New Republic of the Heart should be required reading for all humans over the age of 16.”
—Stanley Krippner, PhD, co-author of Personal Mythology
The book
what time is it on the planet?
Time
- to address our global meta-crisis in all its aspects.
- to frame our global and societal crises and opportunities as challenges to us, now, personally—in terms that penetrate our usual abstractions and avoidance.
- for great intellectual grace, be challenged and enjoy it.
Highlights
The evolutionary activism
it takes to walk paths that lead to the answers we need
Without mincing words
direction: sane, sustainable, heart-based paradigm
on behalf of the planet
thinking deeply, feeling fully, acting boldly
Practical imperatives
strength, intelligence and spirit into powerful strategies
What’s inside
A New Republic of the Heart
From the book's forward by Andrew Harvey
The book you hold in your hands will take you on a journey that will awaken and liberate you. And it will empower you to change the world.
You will find
a rare, sober, deep, spacious, seriously humorous conversation—a conversation many of us are longing for and trying to have.
It's time
It comes just in time. This is a time when most of us are hypnotized by our screens, small and large, when our ears are closed to voices that challenge our refusal to feel our actual situation. There is an alarming tendency in spiritual circles to resort to easy answers to hard questions, to dwell in superficial compassion, cheerfulness, and premature forgiveness, but with no willingness to understand or confront our ecological and spiritual emergency, or the dire structural injustice that supports it.
Pretender voices
In this din, amidst the babel of what some Native American traditions call “pretender voices,” it is very difficult to speak the truth in a way that can be heard and integrated. Because he actually practiced the humility he advocated, Terry Patten dwells in the innocent “don’t-know mind” of an undefended, intelligent heart, with the openness and curiosity that makes
possible endless learning and growth.
Waking up
Many people are just now waking up to the truly horrifying, even unbelievable severity of our ecological, social, economic, and cultural crisis. Please listen to what this book has to say, and let it bridge you into a powerful, dynamic relationship to the horror and wonder of our time.
IntelLigent heart
It will help you navigate the winds of fear and your desire to turn away from what is now before us. It won’t stigmatize those reactions; after all, such feelings are entirely human. It will help you be simply present as an intelligent heart, not overcome by the devouring madness of our time.
First
you are led through an unblinking tour of our holistic crisis and the obstacles to clear understanding, helping you recognize our seemingly insurmountable dilemma as a demand for growth, awakening, and activism.
Second
you will explore the territory of paradox: of how wholeness expresses itself in every facet of not just the natural, more-than-human world, but of our hypercomplex, fast-changing human civilization.
Third
Terry Patten unpacks how our radical urgency and wholeness imply a whole life of practice, and how every day and every moment are implicated.
fourth
this book connects that practice to creative activism: both to “outward” activism—in-the-system, against-the-system, and around-the- system—and to “intimate” holistic activism, in our relationships and conversations.
What Drives Us
What is really happening?
Our times are strange and wondrous—so strange and so wondrous that they far outstrip our comprehension! Even as we are verging on world-changing breakthroughs in science, technology, consciousness, cooperation, and leadership, we’re also verging on catastrophic breakdowns of our planetary ecology, as well as our cultural cohesion, economic and social order, and, of course, our politics.
It is wild, significant, inspiring, and terrifying that this is all happening simultaneously. We are clearly approaching a moment of truth.
Get Involved
There are many ways to co-create New Republics of the Heart. You can cross-collaborate, you can share your story or submit your story idea, you can donate or volunteer, you can become more active personally assisted from the book, podcast, and with resources to help.
Upcoming Events
January - Coming soon
All year immerse yourself in the New Republic of the Heart experience – see Be the change.
Praise for a
New Republic of the Heart
A Practical Path Forward
“Terry Patten has woven together strands from evolutionary neuroscience, deep ecology, integral theory, and spiritual wisdom to offer a practical path forward out of humanity’s current morass. Written with great gusto and clarity, this book shows us how to integrate personal and political practice, transforming both our lives and our world. Fascinating, fast-moving, and heartfelt, this book is a gem.”
—Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Buddha’s Brain, Hardwiring Happiness
Right on the Mark
“Patten clarifies how our wicked problems require us to grow, personally and collectively—showing how our political and ecological problems are also personal and interpersonal. He helps us in going beyond debate, one-upsmanship, and other non-communication, to talk and listen in new ways. He’s right on the mark—we must reknit our social fabric—our collective future requires it.”
—Joan Blades, cofounder of MoveOn.org and Living Room Conversations
Leading Edge of Evolution
“A superb, terrific, exciting, sane, and enlightening look at more truly integral approaches to activism. It represents a social activism that is certainly social, but also personal, emotional, spiritual, ecological, relational, and that stems from, and points toward, the very leading-edge of evolution itself. Highly recommended!”
—Ken Wilber, author of The Integral Vision and Grace and Grit
A Must-Read
“We all know that humanity is at a critical turning point—and this is THE manual for all who want to meet this moment as the historical call to action that it is. Combining brilliant social commentary along with a step-by-step blueprint for catalyzing whole-system change from the inside out, Terry shows us the way to rise into our personal and collective destiny.”
—Claire Zammit, Ph.D. Founder, FemininePower.com
The Wisdom Within
“In a world of exploding crises, we are all called to contribute. But how do we find our unique contributions, and how do we make them most effectively, and bring out the best in us and all those whose lives we touch? These are among the most crucial questions of our time, and Terry Patten beautifully elicits the wisdom within us with which we can find our answers.”
—Roger Walsh MD, Ph.D., University of California, author of Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices
Thoughtful, Careful, and Joyful
“Like all true spiritual guides, Terry Patten shows us how to open our hearts and respond to this suffering world. His book is thoughtful, careful, and joyful.”
—Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei, author of The Zen of You and Me and Everything is Workable
Learn
Resources and Notes
The bottom line is starkly simple
We are it.
Our evolutionary predicament calls us each to be the change we wish to see. That implies an open-ended commitment. In terms of our own growth, it means intending to develop all the best human qualities and virtues, with no end in sight, and a commitment to bring them into every moment of our lives.
This is no conventional commitment
it is an existential commitment to all we hold dear, all you hold dear. You see it in others—the heroes and saints of history, and the ordinary heroes and saints you may know personally.
And others must and will see it in you.
We are the lifeblood of the universe, and once we see that, we cannot help but embrace life.