I am feeling a lot of hope about the future today. Hope is one of those words in need of re-definition. At a minimum it must include a meaningful awareness of the situation that we face plus a faith that the universe is capable of responding to the situation. I think hope is the critical first step towards empowerment.

My hope soared when I heard that Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was rewarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The world is becoming aware. And a big part of this hope came from attending an all day workshop called the Resurgence of Hope on Monday at Whidbey Institute with two of my favorite teachers, Brian Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker.

Brian differentiates between the slowness of biological evolution that takes millions of years and the speed of cultural evolution, which he teaches, is one of those amazing attributes of humans. It comes from having the ability to process information quickly and learn new ideas. This ability to reflect on our surroundings and change will help us respond to the crises of our times. Examples of cultural evolution include mass societal changes in the areas of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, tobacco usage, drinking alcohol while driving and use of fluorocarbons. On a humorous note, Brian apologized for saying during a much prior visit to the Institute that our Universe was born 15 billion years ago. He says the evidence now suggests that it is more accurate to say we are only 13.7 billion years alive.

And Mary Evelyn talked about the giant strides being taken by leading religious teachers towards understanding the threat of global warming. They are literally calling upon their communities to take major actions to deal with this crisis. This can be illustrated by important stories emerging from the Greek Orthodox, Moslem, Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. Two prove a point from recent news, the NY Times just reported that two candidates appealing to religious conservatives, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas are calling for strong actions to ease the effects of people on the climate, at times casting the effort in spiritual terms just as some evangelical groups have taken up the cause.

While at the conference a group of us were reflecting as lay people on what is dark matter, the material that makes up something like 2/3rds of the Universe. Science doesn't understand what it is or how it works. For example the evidence suggests that the Universe is continuing to expand at a very tiny accelerating speed and no one can explain why, but it is not slowing down. There is so much we don't know and so much to learn. The conversation reminded me about a teaching from Carl Jung about what he called our Shadow. The Shadow is that part of ourselves that we can't see or understand. I think of the Shadow as our dark matter. And I get hope in believing that our Shadow is full of very special light that is emerging on an accelerating basis and that this light is shaping what us human beings are becoming. It is not hope based on ignorance but rather a learned hope that reminds us daily that----- we humans are capable of change and are willing to work for the benefit of future generations.

On a personal level I had breakfast today with 4 men who are all doing something to help wake up the world. One reported that the fishing industry is waking up to the affect that a PH change can have in the oceans. Another reported on doing rite of passages for people elders and global citizens. The third is just publishing a book about sustainability. And the fourth was talking about the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium that we recently facilitated.

Another way of thinking about all this comes from teacher. Paul Hawken. He teaches that our Earth's Immune System is actively responding to the huge crises that we face. He points to the fact that he has identified way over 1 million Non-profits and NGO's that are actively responding to the crises of our time.

Isn't it a hopeful and wonderful time to be alive? What do you think about hope?Please respond to this column at our website at www.forthegrandchildren.org and let us know. You will be required to simply register as a user to do this.

With great hope for the future.

This is Volume/issue 1.11. We have archived prior issues of this newsletter under Resources/A Joyful Future at www.forthegrandchildren.org. You can always unsubscribe to these emails by replying to them with unsubscribe in the subject line- but we hope you don't as we have big hopes for this work. Special request: Please notify us if this weekly letter is difficult to read and why, and also what your browser and operating system is? You could also give us feedback about the format and how we could be doing it better. Thank you.

ForTheGrandchildren Editor: Victor Bremson