The Transition Movement

How are we to live into each moment with intention and hope? How can we act on our commitment to life and the common good? The Transition movement of Genesis Farm brings an indisputable urgency to the combined crises of petroleum depletion, climate disruption and economic instability described so powerfully in 1999 by Thomas Berry in The Great Work. His book vividly portrays the inherent wisdom and power of ordinary people in local communities to re-vision themselves within a bioregional context for the ‘Great Work’ of our times.

The Transition movement has emerged over the last five years with both practical and principled responses to these questions. A network of imaginative and locally-focused Initiatives, the Transition movement supports local leadership efforts to engage people to take the far-reaching actions that are required to mitigate the effects of peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis and to build community resilience. Furthermore, these relocalization efforts are designed to result in a life with greater social connections, vibrancy, equity and fulfillment. This community-wide process for creating ‘energy descent pathways’ has spread around the world. Almost 300 officially designated Transition Initiatives now exist in 15 countries; there are more than 60 in the U.S. Hundreds of others are exploring how to begin working with the Transition model.
http://www.transitionus.org/transition-101
http://genesisfarm.org/program.taf?_function=pdetail&program_id=142&id=102

Genisis Farm 's Transition program integrates cosmological perspectives drawn from the scientific story of an evolutionary Universe. Perhaps this 3-day event would be more appropriately called an Introduction to Deep Transition. It is designed for those who already see the cataclysmic nature of our times…who sense that they are being called into the vast Transition of energy descent…and who are longing to explore a perspective that grounds action in the dynamics that are already at work in Earth and the Universe.
http://genesisfarm.org/program.taf?_function=pdetail&program_id=142&id=102

Recomended Reading:
“The Great Turning,” an interview with Joanna Macy in YES! A Journal of Positive Futures. Joanna Macy’s work has been foundational to the ‘heart and soul’ aspect of the Transition movement, initially outlined in The Transition Handbook. She was featured in July as part of the Heart and Soul series at the Transition U.S. website; http://www.transitionus.org/online_training_archives

“Empirical Findings from The Nature of Order,” an essay by architect and scientist Christopher Alexander. Rob Hopkins recently announced that he is writing a new Transition Handbook, with the work of Christopher Alexander as a focus. This essay outlines the essence of his work over 30 years. In the essay, Alexander states the purpose of his work as: “I have tried to construct a coherent picture of life on earth, which…gives us something to live for, and worth living for.”
http://www.livingneighborhoods.org/ht-0/bln-exp.htm

“Participating with the Universe,” an interview with Brian Swimme, mathematical cosmologist specializing in the evolutionary dynamics of the universe. He closes the interview by saying: “[This] is a moment for actually giving birth to a new form of humanity. Thomas Berry says the challenge of our time is the reinvention of the human at the species level, which makes it clear that we’re called to do something monumental and magnificent. That’s why it’s so great to be alive.”
website; http://www.noetic.org/library/publication-articles/participating-universe/