Restoring the transformative bridge: Remembering and regenerating our Western transformative ancient traditions to solve the riddle of our existential crisis

Petra Buergelt, Douglas Paton

Research output: A Conference proceeding or a Chapter in BookChapterpeer-review

Abstract

The apocalyptic cultural transition that threatens our existence represent an opportunity for individual and collective transformation. To support us realising this opportunity, we created a passageway between disaster risk reduction, ancient and Indigenous cultures and transformative learning. Building upon our work and synergising the knowledges of Griffith (2014), Kingsley (2018) and Yunkaporta (2019), we propose that the crisis is spiritual in nature and the consequence of century long Western cultural domestication and colonisation that started with Plato promoting rationality and reductionism which disconnected us from our true, primordial nature, ancestors and ancient Laws and wisdom. We suggest that the antidote is remembering, cultivating and living according to our sacred nature and the ancestral Laws. Accomplishing this requires people in the Western culture expanding their current rational, reductionist physical worldview towards an extra-rational, holistic metaphysical worldview by engaging several interconnected extrarational transformative pathways, specifically individuation, nature and arts.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Palgrave handbook of learning for transformation
EditorsAliki Nicolaides, Saskia Eschenbacher, Petra T. Buergelt, Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, Marguerite Welch, Mitsunori Misawa
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages806-830
Number of pages27
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9783030846947
ISBN (Print)9783030846930
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Restoring the transformative bridge: Remembering and regenerating our Western transformative ancient traditions to solve the riddle of our existential crisis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this