Deep thinkers and community innovators Dougald Hine & Anna Björkman (who also happen to be life partners and co-parents) join Terry to reflect on the nature of sanity, evil, community, and the crafting of a “living culture.” First, we delve underneath the surface of what’s happening here in the U.S., intuiting archetypal energies. Is this the time of the “Trickster”? Or are we seeing a shadow version of the Trickster sitting on the throne? Might it instead be the time of the “wild woman” archetype? How might we work consciously with these archetypal energies in ourselves and our world? Our conversation imagines how we can nurture wholeness in ourselves and our relations by cultivating a living culture of invitation, hospitality, humility, and humor.
Here are some of the questions we explore:
- What might we learn from viewing our chaotic cultural moment as a resurgence of “trickster” archetypal energy?
- Can humor and humility keep grounding our sensemaking and our commitment to our ideas?
- How can each of us craft a “living culture” with those closest to us by remembering the value of invitation, hospitality, and “kitchen-table conversations”? (Even if they’re virtual!)
- How can we begin coming together in new ways — not because we’ve been paid to or told to by the logic of the market, but because we want to?
Dougald Hine is a speaker, writer, and the founder of the Dark Mountain Project, Spacemakers and the School of Everything. Last year, he turned his focus to writing – and a joint project with his partner Anna Bjørkman, A School Called HOME — a gathering place and a learning community for those who are drawn to the regrowing a living culture. Dougald’s writing and speaking includes Uncivilisation: The Dark Mountain Manifesto (with Paul Kingsnorth), The Crossing of Two Lines, Notes From Underground and Clarity for Teachers.
Anna Björkman is the other half of A School called Home. Anna has led projects connecting cultural foundations around Europe, setting up children’s libraries across the Middle East and supporting grassroots women’s organizations in Israel and Palestine. She also runs workshops on security and self-care for activists, or teaching methods for building meaningful projects.
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For more information on Dougald Hine, Anna Björkman, and Terry Patten, check out the following resources:
- A School Called HOME
- The Great Humbling Series with Dougald Hine and Ed Gillespie
- Dougald’s Notes From Underground Essay Series for Bella Caledonia
- The Dark Mountain Project
- School of Everything
- Spacemakers
- Dougald’s Essays
- Terry Patten’s website
- A New Republic of the Heart website
