We seek and find inspiration from many different sources, from writers, poets, artists, musicians to conversations with people in our communities. Our ideas germinate, grow and are sewn together little by little in our weekly journal. We thought it would be helpful and interesting to share some of these.
Below are some of the books, podcasts and newsletters that change us, guide us, and comfort us in this journey. We will update this page as we go along.
In no particular order or reference style, we love:
Books
The Scent of Time, Byung Chul Han
The Burnout Society, Byung Chul Han
Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, Thich Nhat Hanh
Sensuous Knowledge, A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, by Minna Salami
Le Livre des Symboles, The Archive for Research and Archetypal Symbolism, Taschen
Les Sorcières / Brujas and Chez Soi, by Mona Chollet
Finding our way: Leadership for an uncertain time, Margaret Wheatley
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded, beyond the non-profit industrial complex, ed by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence
Trauma Stewardship, an Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky
Sacred Instructions, Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit Based Change, Sherri Mitchell, Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset (She Who Brings the Light).
Sister Outsider, by Audre Lorde
The Wave in the Mind, Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination, by Ursula K. Le Guin and No Time to Spare, Thinking about what matters.
My Seditious Heart, Arundhati Roy, Collected Nonfiction
All about love, new visions, by bell hooks,
The Source of Self-Regard, Selected Essays, Speeches and Meditations, by Toni Morrison
Who do we Choose to Be? and Perseverance by Margaret Wheatley,
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson
One-way Street and Other Writings, by Walter Benjamin
Undoing Border Imperialism, by Harsha Walia,
The Human Condition, by Hannah Arendt
Entangled Life, by Merlin Sheldrake; How Fungi Make our Worlds, change our minds, and shape our futures
Be Water My Friend, by Shannon Lee, on the Writings of Bruce Lee
Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott, some instructions on writing and life
Consolations, by David Whyte; The solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words
Miro, I work Like a Gardener
Lady Sings the Blues, by Billie Holiday
The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben; What They Feel, How they Communicate. Discoveries from a Secret World.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way, A new English version by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Year of the Monkey, by Patti Smith
The Art of Listening, Erich Fromm,
Call them by their True Names, by Rebecca Solnit, American Crises and Essays
At the Same Time, Essays and Speeches, by Susan Sontag
King Kong Theorie, Virginie Despentes
Be More Pirate, by Sam Conniff, and How to Be More Pirate by Alex Barker and Sam Conniff
Learning from the Germans, Confronting Race and the Memory of Evil, by Susan Neiman
Lettres à un jeune poète, Rainer Maria Rilke
On Fire, Naomi Klein
A Velocity of Being, Letters to a Young Reader, edited by Maria Popova and Claudia Bedrick
Humankind, by Rutger Bregman
Becoming Wise, An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, Krista Tippett
the sun and her flowers, by rupi kaur
Ensayo sobre lo que no se ve (Essay about the Unseen), Enrique Lynch
Une Breve Histoire du Jardin, Gilles Clement
Podcasts
For the Wild Podcast conversations focused on land-based protection, co-liberation and intersectional storytelling rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth and consumerism.
On Being, with Krista Tippett, “Pursuing deep thinking and moral imagination, social courage and joy, to renew inner life, outer life, and life together.”
Be More Pirate podcast: Alex Barker and Sam Conniff chat to some of today’s best rule breakers – those who are willing to explore radical new territory and stick their head above the parapet for the greater good. The show tackles some uncomfortable conversation topics, and delves into what it really takes to be a modern pirate. Drawing on the principles in Sam’s 2018 bestseller Be More Pirate, and the follow up, How to Be More Pirate, this podcast is a dose of inspiration for anyone wanting to challenge the status quo.
Making Sense, with Sam Harris, covers a wide range of topics—neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation practice, human violence, rationality—but generally focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live.
Newsletters and Magazines
Brain Pickings has a free Sunday digest of the week’s most interesting and inspiring articles across art, science, philosophy, creativity, children’s books, and other strands of our search for truth, beauty, and meaning.
The New Philosopher magazine, for curious people interested in the fundamental issues facing humankind.
Obenewa Amponsah – Thursday Thoughts: A certified coach, speaker, and facilitator, Obenewa Amponsah specializes in the courageous conversations, the ones that aren’t always easy, but are necessary to move forward personally, professionally, and as a society. Sign up to her weekly update here.
The First 1,000 Days – a slow news project by Irene Caselli, ‘The first 1,000 days of life shape every day that follows. We need to know more about them’
Websites and organisations
Hannah Arendt, Journal for Political Thinking
The House of Beautiful Business https://houseofbeautifulbusiness.com/
Bayo Akomolafe https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/
We Contain Multitudes https://wecontainmultitudes.world/
The Berkana Institute https://berkana.org/
The Emergence Network http://www.emergencenetwork.org/