Our emerging life-aligned culture is gaining ground
- elaine@elainecornick.com
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Here’s more evidence that it’s taking root and spreading
It’s obvious that our current world is crumbling and unraveling in so many ways. It’s also important to know that the crumbling and breakdowns are allowing new life to appear and our new world is developing and growing “below the radar” of mainstream news.
Creating the world we want requires us to activate a life-aligned vision and energize a new cultural story as the old one crumbles and unravels. We all have a part in determining which way this story will go. As Iain McGilchrist says, "The kind of attention we pay to the world changes the world we pay attention to.”
My e-book Hiding In Plain Sight: Evidence of Our Life-Aligned, Regenerative Culture Emerging contains more than 200 specific examples of actual on-the-ground, life-aligned, regenerative projects, programs, movements, and initiatives that are already happening.
Here are new examples that embody the principles of a life-aligned culture in harmony with Life, in "right relationship" with all beings in a culture of respect for the well-being of all.
The introduction says, “Headlines warn of a world in collapse, but solutions journalist Angus Hervey finds the overlooked triumphs that never make the news . . . With hard data and stories from the frontlines, he reveals the hidden progress that perseveres even as it feels like the world is falling apart, and challenges us to decide which future we'll help write.”
Here are just a few excerpts:
“In the last decade, over 250 million children have gained access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene at school.
“In 2024, fewer people died from natural disasters than almost any year in history.
“The murder rate in the United States saw its biggest-ever 12-month decline, beating the previous record, which was set in 2023.
“Deforestation in the Amazon declined to its fourth-lowest level on record.
“Last year, we installed enough solar panels and wind turbines to replace six percent of the world's fossil fuel electricity. This year, we will install even more. Wind, water and sunshine will overtake coal this year as the world’s leading power source.
“Over four million square kilometers of the world's oceans have been protected in the last four years, and air pollution has started to decline.
“In this century, for the first time in history, over 50 percent of students receive a high school education. We have no precedent for that.
"So which one of these stories are true—collapse or renewal? The answer is . . . both. And the truth is that it has always been this way. We all get a choice. We, all of us, get to decide which one of these stories we are a part of. The only question that matters now is which one do you belong to?”
Two articles about changing the paradigm of money and wealth:
This movement is modeling a radically different paradigm of class and wealth than what we’re used to seeing. A non-partisan network of generous tycoons is bidding to tear down the age-old division of haves and have-nots. The Patriotic Millionaires movement started in the US and has since been established in the UK, where it now counts more than 60 members. They say: “We’re a group of millionaires demanding a political economy that works for everyone in America, not just wealthy people like us. Tax the rich. Pay the people. Spread the power!”
Stephanie Brobbey spent the last decade helping the rich get richer. Now she’s launching the UK’s first advisory firm that helps wealthy people redistribute their money and build a fairer economic system. Welcome to the Good Ancestor Movement, a small but (in their own way) momentous pocket of the world’s unimaginably wealthy who are rethinking the whys and wherefores of their bottomless bank accounts.
Three articles about changes in our psycho-social cultural paradigms:
Rudy de Waele articulates a welcome paradigm shift from the models of masculinity we’ve experienced for thousands of years. He describes Regenerative Masculinity as:
A way of being that nurtures life, within and around us.
A masculinity that’s emotionally honest, rooted in presence, and aligned with purpose.
A kind of leadership that doesn't dominate, but listens, protects, and serves.
He says, “This is not about rejecting masculinity. It’s about reclaiming it, in its mature, embodied, and integrated form:
“Regenerative masculinity doesn’t soften men, it grounds them in truth.
“It doesn’t remove strength, it redefines it through integrity and care.
“It doesn’t dissolve masculine identity, it expands it beyond the narrow cage we’ve inherited.”
In her Unhustle Experiment Milena Regos has been creating and developing an antidote to the “hustle” paradigm that is so prevalent in our current culture. She describes “slow work” as a “way of working that respects the balance between individual rhythms and the objectives of the organisation, in favour of the sustainability of both parties, and that advocates qualitative goals, thinking time, individual recovery, purpose, and the humanisation of work.”
As she says, “Slow work does what fast work can’t. In a world addicted to urgency, slowness is a rebellion. A return to soul. A call for wellbeing. A path to sustainability. A conscious effort. Depth takes time. We are addicted to the speed, to the busyness, to the dopamine. But slowness leads to mastery.”
The emerging psychology of human fulfillment is being brought forward by Dr. Ardeshir Mehran, a PhD psychologist, a family therapy and trauma expert, and a leadership coach, who has developed a fulfillment-based model for health and growth.
Depression and anxiety have been seen as immovable causes, disorders that must be treated. Dr. Mehran busts this myth and focuses attention on the real culprit: the unfulfilled life we end up living when we deny our birthrights, bringing the science of human fulfillment into focus.
He says, “Most people generally know how to live a life of achievement. They have clear visions and actions, learned from their upbringing, education, and profession. However, living a life of fulfillment typically feels nebulous, even discretionary . . . This discrepancy is particularly dire for higher achievers. They are resilient, driven, and role models of success. Yet they are running on empty. Many live a life of “high” accomplishment and “low” fulfillment. The high achievers’ status, wealth, and the persona of strength mask their lack of fulfillment, connection, and meaning. They feel stuck.”
Three articles about the disruption and re-configuring of our media system:
TED Talk: This is what the future of media looks like, by Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie.
What if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn't a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
He says, “We're living through the most significant media disruption since the printing press. . . . I secretly think that we're on our way to something greater than we've ever seen in human history. This is a massive deal, of course, because media systems don't just convey information, they shape how we think and how we behave. They shape our culture.”
“We are all now part of an ecosystem that can usher in a new kind of order, where the power is distributed among the many instead of the few. We can take part in a discourse that unleashes expression rather than suppresses it, but that also demands substance—where success is built not on momentary clicks but on deeper connection.”
Just a few excerpts:
“For decades, we lived in a world dominated by traditional media, characterized by top-down control, centralized authority, and official opinion. It was a stable system and it communicated a sense of security in its predictability.
“This solidity, however, came with rigidity. . . this system amounted to something like a temple . . . That system is falling apart now. . .
“Today, we live in the age of chaos media. But just like in the old system, chaos media still concentrates economic power, with the majority of the rewards going to the platform owners. Of course, there are social effects too.
“This media flux is more than just the swing of a pendulum. It’s the beginning of ecosystem change.
“What we’re seeing now could well be the emergence of a new media organism that hasn’t yet found its order. A distributed system that gives economic autonomy to independent voices resembles a garden more than a temple. Handled with the right care, it can bring order to social media’s bedlam.
“. . . your choices today matter so much. Every subscription, every share, every minute of your attention is a vote for the culture you want to see flourish. . . .These actions . . .cultivate a richer, more thoughtful culture capable of addressing the complex challenges of our time.”
Three articles about environmental, ecological, and alternative living/lifestyles:
“Three years ago when we launched Water Stories we decided to name our certification and methodology "Water Cycle Restoration." At that time no one was using this term.Now? You will find all sorts of results online. This is SO incredibly hopeful to see. In the beginning, we hoped to help change the narrative around water and climate, to make water cycle restoration a common term - and . . . that shift is already happening.”
As we deepen our understanding of the existential challenges facing humanity, the path from our industrialized lifestyles to ones that respect planetary boundaries can often feel unclear and overwhelming. However, there are already individuals and communities who have transformed their way of life to do just that. What are the lessons they’ve learned along the way, and how might we use them to transform our own lives? What practical steps can individuals take to shift away from the hyper-consumptive lifestyles popular in industrial societies? Why is it important to mix technological innovation with social and collaborative transformation? Most of all, how could we replicate and adapt the Living Energy Farm model across different regions and cultures in order to increase the number of humans living sustainable and fulfilling lives?
The Resilient Communities Project is a permanent commons for living sustainably on the land within a regenerative economic system.
It consists of an experienced organizing team, multiple Pacific Northwest landholders with from 2 to 120 acres, and an initial formative group of prospective community members. It
offers a novel framework for small groups (perhaps 5-15 adults) to cooperatively acquire permanent land and housing subject to sound agreements for the good of all. This framework largely frees them from the extractive economy.
Can you see the “butterflies” emerging in our culture?