Alliance for a Viable Future

The Wellbeing Economy Alliance believes that humanity should determine economics, not the other way around. In this episode, Jimmy Paul, Director at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance in Scotland - speaks of their work with partners to drive change by co-creating, testing & lobbying for alternative policies, practices & models, and will look to identify the cross-sectoral opportunities for fundamental systems change. Jimmy has worked in a range of leadership roles across health & social care for nearly ten years. He is particularly passionate about a ‘nothing about us without us’ approach to participation and the creative, meaningful involvement of communities who would benefit most from change.”

Do you feel an urgency to step up and face the climate crisis? At no other time in human history has our human species needed to wake up to the harrowing fact that our planet’s natural systems may not be able to support human life— within the coming generation—by 2050. Climate Leadership is a pathway forward that integrates personal & professional development work, for emerging and established leaders who feel compelled to face the reality and take a stand for the future of all life on our planet.

“It’s better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it,'' says Jon Lee Rucker, founder of Wild Beauty Farm (wildbeautyfarm.com), PermaJam (permajam.com), and a dear friend of mine. This empowering conversation will bring awareness to the uneasy feeling about the instability all around us - conflict in the Ukraine, market and supply chain issues, and the environmental turbulence. We discuss our personal experience of how taking action generates a sense of confidence and courage. By facing it, you can turn the anxiety into positive action, instead of ignoring it. It’s better to face the harsh reality sooner than later. By being prepared, and taking action, step by step, the harsh reality becomes less harsh.

It is clear that the climate crisis is not going to go away. How can individuals and families best prepare themselves to meet the health challenges that are inevitable? One of the keys is that “we need to harness the power of focus,” says Dr. Stephanie Mines, the author of five books that reflect over three decades of research as a neuroscientist. She has investigated shock and trauma as a survivor, a professional, a clinical
researcher, and healthcare provider. Her nonprofit The TARA Approach is instrumental in the
systemic change she promotes as a Sustainable Health paradigm. Dr. Mines also developed Climate Change & Consciousness, which serves an international and intergenerational community of visionary activists, to facilitate inner transformation for grounded climate action.

What do you say at your Thanksgiving dinner table to honor our Native American relatives? In this episode, host and Executive Director of Alliance for a Viable Future, Lev Natan, shares stories of the Haudenasaunee Confederacy, The PeaceMaker, the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohicans, and The Seven Generations teaching. Lev’s wish is that his words spark your ideas for what to say around the dinner table. Also, Lev gives an update about the Climate Leadership Initiative that AVF is launching in 2022. Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you!

What’s the purpose of Indigenous People’s Day? Where did it come from? Why does it matter?


The purpose of this panel, “Listening Deeply: Indigenous Voices Panel Discussion,” was to educate our community in preparation for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It happened on Friday, October 1st from 6:00-8:00pm at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire in Housatonic. Our panelists were Shawn Stevens, Jake Singer, Bonney Hartley, from the Mohican Cultural Affairs Office, and Carol Dana, a Penobscot Language MastWe also heard deep reflections from Lev Natan, founding director of Alliance for a Viable Future, and special honored guest, Gwendolyn VanSant, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Director of MultiCultural Bridge.

How can you integrate spiritual wisdom, social justice, reconciliation and deep personal growth? Rabbi David Jaffe’s teaching, organizing, writing and consulting explore the intersection of moral-spiritual development and ethical action in the world. In our interview, he draws from his book, Changing the World from the Inside Out, where he speaks to the needs of change makers and spiritual leaders throughout the country.

“Indian girl use all your heart, or they’ll eat it raw, while singing la la la la”” Janel Munoa is a Native American Musician, who grew up on her Luiseño tribe’s reservation in Southern California. She moved to the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, where she has cultivated her professional musical career, while becoming active in in community organizing efforts for social and environmental issues. In our interview, she speaks eloquently about striking the balance between “leading and following” in both group dynamics, creative expression, racial justice, solidarity and land reparations for native communities. You can learn more about her work at www.janelmunoa.com.

Women are designed to sustain life. When supported to grow from healing into leadership, they naturally bring forth life-sustaining values such as love, compassion, joy and gratitude. In this interview, Catherine Ayotte shares her intimate experience of shifting from the ''victim'' to the ''leader'', using integrity, community and dignity as anchors in the process. She shares about her initiatory journey of stepping into women’s facilitation work. To learn more about her work, visit: www.thesacredpathofthepriestess.com.

“We had to ask ourselves, if people are cutting down trees to cook their meals, then how can we help them reduce the amount of wood needed every time they cook.” These words from the co-founders point to their mission: to address the underlying causes of deforestation. For over twenty years, Trees, Water & People has been a leader in not only reforestation, but also in the design and distribution of clean cookstoves and other clean energy products which greatly reduce the use of natural resources for energy creation. The team is guided by two core beliefs: that natural resources are best protected when local people play an active role in their care and management and that preserving local ecosystems is essential for the ongoing social, economic, and environmental health of communities everywhere. After over a decade of service with Trees, Water & People, Sebastian Africano is proud to have been selected to lead the organization as Executive Director. He has worked first-hand in almost every aspect of TWP's programs, and brings deep perspective and dedication to advancing the struggles and aspirations of the communities TWP serves. While Sebastian travels less these days than he did during his first ten years with the organization, he is excited to raise his two young kids among the extended TWP family, and to continue building bridges to connect our unique global community. Sebastian holds an MBA from Colorado State University. Learn more at www.treeswaterpeople.org.

Indigenous People's Day is a new holiday that is being observed instead of Columbus Day around the United States and the World, as part of the movement to take down statues of confederate leaders and to tell a more accurate history. Here in the Berkshires, the non-profit organization, Alliance for a Viable Future is organizing an Indigenous People's Day Walk in Great Barrington, on October 11th, as well as organize a Climate Resilience Workshop Series with a coalition of organizations who are dedicated to the deep connection between indigenous rights and climate resilience. To learn more visit www.allianceforaviablefuture.org, look under the projects tab, sign up for their newsletter for updates, and mark you calendar for Monday, October 11th to observe Indigenous People's Day with your community in Berkshires.

In our modern culture, there's virtually no acknowledgment of personal rites of passage for women or any human being. The Rites of Passage Project features a diverse collective of sixty-five women of color from around the country. The purpose is to reclaim and expand the concept of a “rite of passage” to recognize that every significant experience in a woman's life from birth to death - the beautiful and the ugly, the holy and profane - can be a liberatory initiation. Through live performance-installations, an online platform, and forthcoming large-format photo book of photos and essays, we hope to re-frame, educate, and inspire the way we see and live our lives as women. Link to donate: https://chuffed.org/project/ritesofpassage-2020vision

Young voices should not only be heard but recognized as having the power to make change. Jewish Youth Climate Movement (JYCM) is dedicated to empowering teens to mobilize intelligent responses to climate change. In this episode, we are joined by Yonah Sadeh, Alex Tananbaum and Eli Anderson, members of JYCM’s Executive Board about their motivation to create a more equitable and sustainable world for all. Their greater purpose is to be a resource for people of all ages and religions, spreading a multi-generational message to take a stand in the name of climate justice. You can see more of their work at www.jewishyouthclimatemovement.org or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @jewishyouthclimatemovement

Author Julia Mayer’s new book, Painting Resilience is a very personal exploration of the role Fred Terna’s art played in surviving four concentration camps, and living a creative life as a successful artist. In our interview, we spoke about what Fred’s capacity to be creative and resilient has to teach us about facing the convergent crises of our times. Fred himself says that living through it was luck but living with it takes skill. Julia wanted to discover and share what those skills are and how Fred came to acquire them. You can order her book at www.juliamayer.com.

Edson Sean is the kind of guy, you want to get to know. And, once you know him, you want to learn more. He is one of those unique artists who inspires us to be better human beings; he is a musician, emcee and producer, who gets real. In our conversation, we went deep and made significant connections: what it’s like to be a man in today’s world - a black man, and a white man - the importance of Love, and how art & music opens the healing journey. He has a heart of gold that welcomes you to remember what’s possible when you let go and imagine what’s possible. You can learn more about his work at www.edsonsean.com.

Arin Maya opens new dimensions of possibility - a singer/songwriter on the rise, bringing political consciousness deeply rooted in soul lineage. She is, quite simply, a breath of fresh air. In our interview, we riff on her amazing new music video, Dancing a Red Line (watch here: https://youtu.be/-ALv3nBgKfQ), which inspires new vision for the more beautiful world that we all know is possible. She brings the Love, while catalyzing social awareness, racial justice and conscious activism.

The riot on the Capitol last week, led by far-right, white supremacists, has revealed the depths of this deeply vulnerable moment in our nation. Let’s focus on a unifying message from Jake Singer - a Sundance Chief, traditional Navajo Medicine Man, decorated Vietnam Veteran, and founder of the organization Walk with the Warriors, with the mission of honoring Native American Veterans for their service to the United States military. In our interview, he spoke to the federal government, saying “a promise is a promise,” which feels so relevant right now. For years, he has worked to establish a Native American Veterans Day as a federally-recognized national holiday. He shared his wisdom, stories and inspiring message of unity, faith and care for our water and environment, as we prepared for our WALK for a Viable Future in observance of Indigenous People’s Day, this past October 11th, 2020.

While the election is over, it has revealed a stark fracture in our communities. In 2021, how might we stay grounded in a vision that addresses the most poignant issues of our time - racial justice, climate change, and equity, while charting a sensible path that diffuses the brittle conflicts that have boiled over? As cultural healers, changemakers, and leaders committed to a viable future, how can we hold the spectrum of polarity in a way that fosters healing and understanding? Community Councils is a social technology that has gained traction throughout parts of Europe and the States - and looks to be a potent medicine for the social maladies of this moment.

Sound healing is a mysterious portal into the sacred space of vision. Research shows that humming and toning boosts the immune system, enhances mental clarity, reduces stress, and increases "the trust hormone." In this powerful time of the winter solstice, we have an opportunity to utilize sound as a doorway into our deeper reservoirs of energy, vitality and vision.
As we approach the winter solstice, it is a powerful time to slow down, rest, dream, gather your thoughts, prayers and intentions for the year to come, and plant them into the depths of this fertile darkness. What do you see just beyond the horizon of your vision? What is whispering to you to stand for, claim, and stretch into, in this coming year? What are you longing to create, for your family, community, work, and yourself? What dream is possible for our country and world? The fact that you see it, means it has a chance to manifest.
Through the practice of toning and humming, your mind's vibrational field opens to new possibilities that feel more tangible when you experience them in this state of conscious awareness. In this dark time, let's keep the flame of faith, courage & wisdom alive.
Recorded December 14th, 2020

What gives you the courage to keep going? What do you do to remember the source of your care? How do you renew your commitment when you feel run down? When I reconnect to my lineage, and remember the long-line of mentors and teachers who inspire me, I find my center, once again. When I remember the initiations that I’ve endured, I find my commitment, once again. In this episode, I present the three stories of lineage, initiation & commitment: “Mogli” in the disney film, a book called CommonFire, an “Gather,” a documentary featuring Native American community leaders, who are reviving their communities through food sovereignty. What about you? What do words like “lineage” and “initiation” mean to you?