Over decades, my practices became focused on the spaces between thoughts, breaths, stories, the something else, an expansive beyondness. Now, when I crawl to the edge of my latest no-longer-sustainable bog state, admitting this isn’t working anymore, I look around for who else is hugging the muddy embankments of the inbetween spaces. Many of these encounters are chronicled here at Kindred with trance-breakers, new cycle makers, and wayfinders.

What transformative processes could humans ignite if we worked with nature’s intelligence, followed our evolutionary pathway to wholeness (our Evolved Nest), focused on the space between our stories, and surrendered to a worldview that could lift us out of our individual and collective bogs? What if we began this process before setting out with our best intentions of saving the world?

Worldviews create worlds. What creates our worldview? In this issue of Kindred we hear from human consciousness field researcher, Marilyn Schlitz, who shares with us her decades of hard science research into worldview literacy, considered the most important skill of our time by many philosophers, scientists, and changemakers. Schlitz shares the known practices for building and shifting our worldview awareness. Worldview literacy can be learned.

There are only two worldviews. We also hear from Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez, who take us deeper into the territory of worldview with their new book, Restoring the Kinship Worldview. As Four Arrows’ decades of cognitive anthropology scholarship shows, there are only two worldviews for us to experience: the disconnected, Dominant Worldview, and the connected, Kinship or Indigenous worldview.

“To shift from the dominant worldview to the original Indigenous worldview takes some decolonizing of the mind. Our minds have been suckled on the milk of civilization’s domination and coercion of life, with industrialization and capitalism increasing disconnection and alienation from earth consciousness. This book plants the seeds for decolonizing your mind,” writes Four Arrows in the book’s introduction. You can now read the introduction to the new book and listen to the author’s new video presentation on the book here. You can download Four Arrows’ Worldview Chart, illustrating 40 precepts of the Dominant and Indigenous Worldviews here.

Why is worldview literacy a crucial skill to develop before setting out to become a changemaker? Because Traditional Hamster Wheel Activism – running ourselves ragged, kidding ourselves with impact statements and studies based on cultural bias, and stress-relieving, reactionary fist waving – is designed at its core to reproduce trauma and deplete our precious energies. Yes, we feel like we’re really getting somewhere because we’re moving and shaking, but a few trips outside of the Dominant Worldview and its Cycle of Competitive Detachment, will show us the truth of our efforts: we’re going nowhere fast. Without consciously shifting our worldview, we will continually create the same unsustainable world.

Where to begin? Our Dominant Worldview's values are responsible for creating baselines for health and wellness in the United States that have resulted in the sickest population of any developed nation. Our Evolved Nest components are our evolutionary baselines for wellbeing and whole human thriving. From a consciously cultivated Kinship Worldview, and through the grounded tenets of Kindred Activism, we are now ready to break cycles, make new cycles, and find imaginative ways to create a Wisdom-based, Wellness-informed Society. This is Kindred's vision and mission and has been for over a quarter century.

What can we see with new eyes? It is easier to see the inspirational changes taking place in our culture through the lens of a worldview that values relationship, divergent thinking, centering childhood in social justice, and creating parallel structures not dependent upon status quo institutions.

The good news is, it's already happening. Integrating and illustrating in real time our themes of worldview, wayfinding, and abandoning the hamster wheel this month is Kindred’s Meet the Wayfinder Oral Hisory Series, launched in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, National Breastfeeding Month, Indigenous Milk Medicine Week, and Black Breastfeeding Week. In the Meet the Wayfinder series you will hear from nine wayfinders who broke barriers to breastfeeding advocacy in America’s workplaces, hospitals, academia, formula-influenced bio-medical fields, media, and created awareness through the performance arts, establishment of parallel structures that meet BIPOC community needs, and more. These are stories of individuals who followed an innate call through to the end.

What did the dragonfly say? Transformative change is happening all around us, if we have the eyes to see and ears to hear. We are a storytelling species. Not leaving the bog of our Old Story is no longer an option. Our New Story will be wrItten in collaboration with all of our kin, all of life in mind. It is time to move toward the shorelines where many are gathering. Leave the bog. Get ready to fly. We got this.

Kindred Media, Editor

Kindred World, Co-Founder

Read the full editorial here.

When it appears that everything is wrong with the world, we know we’re dealing with a worldview issue. Both science and wisdom traditions show us our worldview creates our world, but what creates our worldview? 

You're also invited to join the upcoming LIVE DISCUSSIONS with Darcia Narvaez and Lisa Reagan. These discussions are not recorded for the comfort of participants. They are free and open to the public, but you must register to join. PHOTO: Darcia, Lisa, and Chris Agnos from Sustainable Human film company on July 7, working on a new script for a new film!

Visit the film's site to view the film and discover resources, or click above to watch.

Join Breaking the Cyce's Mighty Networks Discussion Group here.

Watch Darcia Narvaez's invitation to you to the Biology of Trauma Summit and REGISTER for the event here.

The Indigenous worldview considers the cosmos interconnected, moral and sacred, and is associated with greater biodiversity preservation. The Indigenous worldview and corresponding philosophy represent the longest empirical “experiment” ever done in biodiverse and culturally diverse settings. The San Bushmen have been in existence for at least 150,000 years. This worldview along with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of how to live responsibly-in-place is credited for the majority of biodiversity still in existence (according to a recent UN report, 80% of the biodiversity is held on the 20% of land controlled by Indigenous Peoples).

In the new book, Restoring Our Kinship Worldview, Darcia Narvaez and Four Arrows present 28 of 40 precepts showing the contrasting worldviews and how the Indigenous worldview supports biodiversity and the dominant worldview does not.

As of July 16, 2022, People experiencing a mental health crisis can now call or text a three-digit number, 988, to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and connect with mental health professionals trained to respond to such emergencies. Suicide is a leading cause of death in new mothers. See the stats in this post.

The Handmaid’s Tale is not only a story about one woman’s demise at the hands of a fascist empire, it is a story of what happens to good men in those conditions. When Offred loses everything, Luke—her husband—is not outraged. Instead, he tells her not to worry and promises to take care of her. Later, during marches, he tells her that it would be “futile” to march and that she needs to think about him and their daughter. Although Luke is portrayed as a decent man, he yields to the systemic violence towards and oppression of women. Gilead re-establishes the old patterns and mindsets of patriarchy, and Luke easily slips back into those patterns, promising to “take care” of Offred instead of fighting for her rights. 

The Handmaid’s Tale is The American’s Tale—a story about the downfall of an entire society and the end of enlightenment. I believe our only chance now is for each and every one of us to do what Artemis would do.

1. What Is Downshifting? (this page) We can all become self-protective when we feel threatened and downshift to our survival systems which affect our perceptions and actions. 

2. The Scope of Healing: Stress or adverse experiences can negatively impact our brains, bodies and emotions.  To help restore our brains, bodies and emotions, we discuss different ways and methods that foster healing.  We discuss intrapersonal, interpersonal, imaginative healing, interpersonal co-regulation and structural healing.

Our Evolved Nest is our Evolutionary Pathway to Wellbeing and Thriving

Kindred's Meet the Wayfinders oral history collection of empowering, personal stories features video interviews with nine professionals, parents, and scientists who found ways around breastfeeding advocacy barriers, or just broke them! The series was created at the invitation of La Leche League International in celebration of their 65th Anniversary Conference held October 15-18, 2021. While the series was presented live in October, the public viewed the collection on LLLI’s website until April 2022. The oral history collection is open to the public in celebration of breastfeeding month in August.

Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, August 1-7

See the full conference series on the website www.MeetTheWayfinders.org.

The Virginia Museum of History and Culture will be featuring the Kindred cover from November 2021 as well as excerpts from the interview with Raven Brightwater Custalow. Raven Brightwater Custalow talks with Lisa Reagan about her nonprofit work and expansive vision for revitalizing Indigenous traditions in collaboration with Virginia’s eleven Native American tribes. Raven shares her inspiration for her work, growing up on one of the oldest reservation in the country, and being surrounded by family members who practiced and taught Indigenous traditions in crafts and drumming. Raven’s work today includes a documentary series of the eleven tribes’ elders, ongoing presentations and educational programs, and collaborations with many tribal members. She speaks frankly in the interview about her frustration with some of the tribes exclusion of women in their leadership, a colonial remnant necessary for communicating with the patriarchal settlers 400 years ago. Raven talks of her hope of returning to the matriarchal roots of her tribal heritage, and preparing her young children to carry their Indigenous traditions into the future.

Irishia is a Lancaster, South Carolina native that began her dance training at the age of three. She has worked with renowned choreographers, including Donald McKayle, Ephrat Asherie, Dr. Ama S. Wray, Tong Wang, Idan Cohen, and Greg Chapkis. Also notably, she has appeared on TV shows such as Paula Abdul’s Live to Dance. While completing her undergraduate studies she was awarded the first scholarship by modern dance legend Donald McKayle, for her choreography and dance performance. Irishia is currently represented by Go 2 Talent Agency. Her other roles include artistic director of The Hubbard Collectiveand professional stager for the Donald McKayle Legacy. 

Thank you to our social media strategy team, Allison Nida and Grace, who are behind this month's breastfeeding celebration posts! When you watch the Kindred Twitter and Facebook turn into a firestorm, that's Allison sharing the new story at lightning speed!

Richard and Nancy Stodart have played a crucial part in Kindred's development over many years as designers, copyeditors, conceptual partners, and good friends. They are currently working with Kindred World Publishing House to bring forward authors, books, and e-books in alignment with Kindred World's vision of a Wisdom-based, Wellness-informed Society.

You can view Richard's artwork at www.RichardStodart.com. The cover of this month's Kindred e-zine is Richard's new work, Blue Blaze (top of this issue).

If you want to stay up with our posts, podcasts, and interviews, but want to avoid mainstream social media, join our dedicated Mighty Networks platform at www.KindredCommunity.org.

There are private groups for each Kindred World initiative, notices of Zoom meetings and LIVE discussions, and a way to navigate by topic.

We screen our participants and remove trolls or spammers. Kindred Community is a safe place to connect with like-minded trance-breakers and new cycle makers!