Joanna Macy reviews Designing Regenerative Cultures

To me as a life-long activist nourished on systems thinking and Buddhist teachings, this is one of the most intellectually exciting and soul stirring books I’ve read in years. I had the sense of drinking it, with pleasure and surprise, not having known what I’d so thirsted for.

By starting with questions and keeping to questions throughout, Daniel en- gages the reader, and by example frees her from striving for, or pretending to know, any final answers. This approach — in itself a rare lesson in systems epistemology — invites trust, openness, and a restructuring of the mind.

Among the gifts for which I am especially grateful are these:

Conceptual tools for perceiving and experiencing our mutual belonging, and especially what I’ve come to call the great reciprocity at the heart of the universe.

The ways Goethe, Bortoft, Bateson, Maturana, and Varela are brought in, and key insights mediated with economy and clarity.

The abundant evidence of the Great Turning, the manifold transition underway to a life-sustaining culture.

And, especially valuable to those of an apocalyptic bent like myself, the ‘adaptive cycle’ of resilient systems, showing that at ‘the edge of chaos’ comes opportunity for the emergence of greater complexity and intelligence.

These are but a few of the ways in which this remarkable book will enrich my thought, my teaching, and my life in this turbulent world of ours.

Joanna Macy has been a huge influence on my work. I facilitated an 11 day course with her in Spain in 2003 and also worked with her during my time at the Findhorn Foundation. Her comments on my book have already made the effort and long years of researching and writing it worth while. She is one of the great sages of our times.

[This review was published as ‘Joanna’s Recommended Reading’ in Deep Times, Issue Summer 2016; p.43]

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