Mar 2, 2020

The New Story Revolution: Over 75 Films & Articles About the Movement With Many Names

"It’s all a question of story. We are in trouble just now because we are in between stories. The Old Story—the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it—sustained us for a long time. It shaped our emotional attitudes, provided us with life purpose, energized action, consecrated suffering, integrated knowledge, guided education. We awoke in the morning and knew where we were. We could answer the questions of our children. We could identify crime, punish transgressors. Everything was taken care of because the story was there. But now it is no longer functioning properly, and we have not yet learned the New Story." --Thomas Berry (1978)
By Tim Hjersted / filmsforaction.org
The New Story Revolution: Over 75 Films & Articles About the Movement With Many Names

What is this "new story" revolution?

What follows is a collection of over 75 films and articles that touch this space.

It's a digital library dedicated to exploring this new frontier in human consciousness - where we live into creation new & ancient ways of being, where we redefine our relationship with ourselves and the world, and where we remember all that we have forgot.

 

A New Story of the People | Charles Eisenstein
8 min · The old story of our culture is losing its meaning for more and more people. Perhaps almost everyone can feel it these days. But a new story is emerging too - one that recognizes some long forgotten truths about who we are and our...
A New Story for Humanity: Change the Story, Change the World
102 min · A New Story For Humanity presents a beautifully and sensitively woven tapestry of the rich diversity that is the human family. Featuring interviews on the essential topics of our time: from cosmology to ecology, from ancient wisdom to...
Stories That Once Offered My Life Meaning No Longer Satisfy. Have You Felt This Too?
Charles Eisenstein · Sometimes I feel nostalgic for the cultural mythology of my youth, a world in which there was nothing wrong with soda pop, in which the super Bowl was important, in which America was bringing democracy to the world, in which the doctor...
The Evolution of Ecological Consciousness | Andrew Faust
109 min · Permaculture designer Andrew Faust gives us an inspiring and heady narrative about the evolution of all life and human consciousness on Mother Earth. 
The Story That's Destroying the World
Tim Hjersted · Let me start by saying something that sounds controversial but actually isn't:
Charles Eisenstein: The Two Great Stories That Give Meaning to Our Lives
6 min · What matters in life? Who are we? Every culture has answers to these questions. And the way we answer them has profound effects on the health of people and planet. This is a consciousness-shifting clip from the excellent film "Occupied...
The Global Brain | Peter Russell
35 min · Peter Russell’s award-winning video, based on a live audio-visual presentation in 1983. He explores the idea that the Earth is an integrated, self-regulating living organism and asks what function humanity might have for this planetary...
The New Story: Why Changing the Myth Changes Our world
Alan Heeks · Alan Heeks explores the pathways that can take us from the ‘old story’ of addictive materialism into a new, creative and regenerative post-industrial society.
ENOUGHNESS: Restoring Balance to the Economy in the Most Awesome Way Ever
5 min · How we see the world determines how we act. Western thought sees us at war with each other over resources. In Indigenous philosophy, we are all related as individuals in balance with nature. This video juxtaposes these two world views...
Sacred Economics with Charles Eisenstein (2019 Remix)
12 min · Sacred Economics traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, revealing how the money system has contributed to alienation, competition, and scarcity, destroyed community, and necessitated endless growth.
A Charter for the Social Solidarity Economy
REAS · This charter was originally published in Spanish as a rallying call for Social Solidarity Economy initiatives within the Spanish territory. We have translated it to share its principles with English speaking audiences and Social...
Money & Life
86 min · Money & Life is a passionate and inspirational essay-style documentary that asks a provocative question: can we see the economic crisis not as a disaster, but as a tremendous opportunity?  
Occupy Love
85 min · Join acclaimed director Velcrow Ripper on a journey deep inside the global revolution of the heart that is erupting around the planet. Humanity is waking up to the fact that the dominant system of power is failing to provide us with...
Charles Eisenstein: The Story of Interbeing
8 min · Charles Eisenstein explains how the real power we have to create change comes from stepping into a new story he calls The Story of Interbeing.
United Natures: a United Nations of all Species
104 min · United Natures explores the rights of Mother Earth, environmental philosophy, wisdom, spirituality, and the potential for a neo-indigenous future for humanity.
Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective
92 min · Humanity is more than ever threatened by its own actions; we hear a lot about the need to minimize footprints and to reduce our impact. But what if our footprints were beneficial? What if we could meet human needs while increasing the...
Yearning our Way to A More Beautiful World
Chris Taylor · The future we long for is alive and well in the more hopeful corners of our heart.
Carl Sagan - Who Speaks for Earth?
7 min · "We have heard the rationales offered by the super powers. We know who speaks for the nations. But who speaks for the human species, who speaks for Earth?" - Carl Sagan​
Joanna Macy: From The Great Unraveling to The Great Turning
2 min · Prayer for the Great Turning May the turning of the Earth save us.
The Revolution Is Love! Our Movement is for the 100%
4 min · "Love is the felt experience of connection to another being. An economist says 'more for you is less for me.' But the lover knows that more of you is more for me too. If you love somebody their happiness is your happiness. Their pain is...
The Bloom Episode 3: New Ways of the Sacred
70 min · Part III of The Bloom “New Ways of The Sacred” looks at how Transformational Festivals are venues for an active engagement with ancient, universal themes of MYTHOS, RITUAL and THE SACRED, exploring ways which both honor the traditional...
Within Reach: Journey to Find Sustainable Community
87 min · Within Reach explores one couple's pedal-powered search for a place to call home. Mandy and Ryan gave up their jobs, cars, and traditional houses to 'bike-pack' 6500 miles around the USA seeking sustainable community. Rather than...
The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community
51 min · David Korten’s inspiring and extensively illustrated presentation of his book The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community. David says we are at a defining moment in all of human history.
Prout: Economic Democracy in Practice
30 min · Economics of Prout covers the basic economic principles of Prout, which offers a viable alternative to the materialistic, anti human philosophies of Capitalism and Communism.
Jacque Fresco - A Story of Change
13 min · "Every action and decision we take - or don't - ripples into the future. For the first time we have the capability, the technology, and the knowledge to direct these ripples."
The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible - Charles Eisenstein
5 min · "There is a vast territory between what we're trying to leave behind, and where we want to go - and we don't have any maps for that territory." - Charles Eisenstein
10 Principles of Radical Ecological Democracy
Ashish Kothari · A Way to Achieve Global Human Happiness Without Destroying the Planet
The Sacred Balance
2 min · Based on David Suzuki's best-selling book of the same name, and filmed on five continents, THE SACRED BALANCE celebrates a new scientific worldview, an inclusive vision of nature in which we human beings are intimately connected to all...
Earth Democracy
3 min · Vandana Shiva explains the concept of a deeper democracy called "Earth Democracy."
15 Films Inspiring and Illuminating the 'New Story' Revolution
Tim Hjersted · Charles Eisenstein is one of the first people I heard talk about the "new story," synthesizing a diverse movement that has been emerging for the last several decades. When I go back far enough, I first heard about these ideas from...
We Need a New Story for Our Relationship with the Earth, One that Goes Beyond Science and Religion
Richard Schiffman · It is no secret that the Earth is in trouble and that we humans are to blame. Just knowing these grim facts, however, won’t get us very far. We have to transform this knowledge into a deep passion to change course. But passion does not...
A New Story for a New Economy
David Korten · David Korten's new essay (available to read as a PDF) connects the work of finding a new sacred story with the effort to build a new economy.
The Charter For Compassion
2 min · The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. AFFIRM the Charter today: http://charterforcompassion.org
The Burden of the New Story
Adebayo Akomolafe · The 'new story' - that longed for milieu when all is right with the world and things are set straight - seems to be taking its sweet time coming. Why?
Crossroads: Labor Pains of a New Worldview
65 min · Crossroads: Labor Pains of a New Worldview is a documentary exploring the depths of the current human condition and the emergence of a worldview that is recreating our world from the inside out. Weaving together insights and findings...
The Economics of Happiness
65 min · Economic globalization has led to a massive expansion in the scale and power of big business and banking. It has also worsened nearly every problem we face: fundamentalism and ethnic conflict; climate chaos and species extinction...
In Transition 2.0: A Story of Resilience & Hope in Extraordinary Times
66 min · This film is an inspirational immersion in the Transition movement, gathering stories from around the world of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. There are stories of communities printing their own money, growing food...
Zeitgeist: Moving Forward
162 min · A feature length documentary by Peter Joseph that presents the case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society.
Paradise or Oblivion
48 min · A free online documentary created by The Venus Project, which examines the root causes of the systemic value disorders and detrimental symptoms caused by our current established system. This video presentation advocates a new...
An Unlearning: My Meeting with Charles Eisenstein
20 min · My meeting with Charles Eisenstein.
The Choice Is Ours
98 min · This film series explores many aspects of our society. To rethink what is possible in our world, we need to consider what kind of world we want to live in. Although we refer to it as civilization, it is anything but civilized. Visions...
Self-Organisation Beyond Hierarchy
74 min · This series of six short films look beyond hierarchy at two approaches to self-organisation. Traditionally, many of us are used to having someone at the top, but times are changing and we are seeing a paradigm shift in how people...
PROUT's Concept of Economic Democracy
10 min · 10 minutes of plain-spoken awesome. Economic Democracy is the BIG IDEA of our time. Make sure you don't miss the awesome moment starting at 2:30 that goes until 3:25! 
Imagine The Most Beautiful Future: What Do You See?
5 min · "Trust is the basis on which life heals. There is no deeper vision than the vision of a world in which trust reigns between all beings."
This Is The "Living on Earth 101" Primer Every Human Needs To See. And It's Only 52 Seconds.
1 min · This Wombat has some simple instructions for living on Earth. A great reminder for sure!
Capitalism Is Just a Story - Rise Up and Create a New One
6 min · How many of us have a sneaking suspicion that something pretty fundamental is going wrong in the world? We keep hearing about the potentially devastating consequences of climate change but we are pumping more carbon dioxide into the...
I Am Not Black. You Are Not White: We Are Not the Racial Labels Elites Invented to Divide Us
4 min · Racism is real but race is not. "Black" and "White" were labels invented in the 15th century - made up to divide us. Is it time to let these labels go? ​Prince Ea believes the answer is yes.
Dada Krsnasevananda on "The Role of Spirituality in Modern Society"
15 min · "Imagine what it would be like if, instead of branding us by our brains or looks, our schools and televisions described the divinity and greatness inside each one of us, and taught us the means to realize it. If, instead of idolizing...
Love School
4 min · In the Oak-dotted countryside of Southern Portugal lies the Tamera Healing Biotope, one of Earth’s most radical social experiments in human futurism. Tamera began in the “free love” utopian movements of the 1960s’ and 70’s, building...
Charles Eisenstein on The Challenge of Communicating Beyond the Boundaries of Consensus Reality
Charles Eisenstein · Last week I had two brushes with the mainstream of American culture and politics. The first was an appearance on a PBS television show, the Tavis Smiley show. As far as I can remember, this was only the second time I’ve been on a...
Charles Eisenstein - Why We Need Community To Live In the New Story
6 min · In this excerpt from LOVE SCHOOL, author and visionary Charles Eisenstein speaks to the importance of surrounding ourselves with a supportive community that can give us the courage we need to step into the unknown, into new ways of being.
A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity
79 min · A Simpler Way follows a community in Australia who came together to explore and demonstrate a simpler way to live in response to global crises. Throughout the year the group built tiny houses, planted veggie gardens, practised simple...
Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future
85 min · Living the Change explores solutions to the global crises we face today – solutions any one of us can be part of – through the inspiring stories of people pioneering change in their own lives and in their communities in order to...
Freedom Ahead: Democracy Does Not Offer Freedom, Nature Does
60 min · Never before in history have so many people relied on so few for the basic essentials of life.
Fools & Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest
30 min · Fools & Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest is a 30-minute documentary about Hinewai Nature Reserve, on New Zealand’s Banks Peninsula, and its kaitiaki/manager of 30 years, botanist Hugh Wilson. When, in 1987, Hugh let the local...
Wetheuncivilised, A Life Story
101 min · “Once in a while a film comes along that has profound impact – this is a delicious taste of what can be.” - Polly Higgins 
8 Principles for a Regenerative Civilization
John Fullerton · There is nothing more difficult to plan, nor more dangerous to manage, than the creation of a new system. For the creator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old system and merely lukewarm defenders in...
Revolution without Upheaval: A Manual Of Change
Daniel Quinn · When we talk about saving the world, what world are we talking about? Not the globe itself, obviously. But also not the biological world—the world of life. The world of life, strangely enough, is not in danger (though thousands and...
Have You Heard of The Great Forgetting? It Happened 10,000 Years Ago & Completely Affects Your Life
Daniel Quinn · (Excerpted from the book, The Story of B) With every audience and every individual, I have to begin by making them see that the cultural self-awareness we inherit from our parents and pass on to our children is squarely and solidly...
The Little Engine That Couldn't: How We're Preparing Ourselves and Our Children for Extinction
Daniel Quinn · In a recent semi-documentary film called Garbage, a toxic waste disposal engineer was asked how we can stop engulfing the world in our poisons. His answer was, "We'd have to remove everybody from the face of the earth, because humans...
Daniel Quinn: a Return to Tribalism?
Alice Linsley · Daniel Quinn is an observer of the failure of modern civilization and an advocate of a return to tribal values. He explores this in his book Beyond Civilization: Humanity Next Great Adventure.
Matriarchies Are Not Just a Reversal of Patriarchies: A Structural Analysis
Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth · Matriarchies are not just a reversal of patriarchies, with women ruling over men – as the usual misinterpretation would have it. Matriarchies are mother-centered societies. They are based on maternal values: care-taking, nurturing...
We’ve Got a Better World in Mind - 8 Principles for a Beautiful Future
Christine Hanna and Berit Anderson · How to get from here to there in the next 10 years
Towards a Regenerative Cosmology: Re-Inhabitation, Re-Enchantment, Re-Indigenisation
Daniel Christian Wahl · The ‘design’ brief to redesign the human impact on Earth from predominantly exploitative and destructive to by and large regenerative and health-generating invites us to ask fundamental questions that define the story we tell about the...
Regenerative Cultures, Regenerative Economics & Bioregional Regeneration
Daniel Christian Wahl · Some people are starting to talk about regenerative cultures as possible pathways towards a thriving future of people unfolding their unique potential within the context of the communities and regions they help to regenerate — cultures...
The Regenerative Design (R)Evolution
Daniel Christian Wahl · A new generation of designers are applying ecologically inspired design to agriculture, architecture, community planning, cities, enterprises, economics and ecosystem regeneration. Join them to co-create diverse regenerative cultures in...
The Vision of Wellbeing Economies
Martin Oetting · The concept of Wellbeing Economies (WE) does not attempt to explain the world through a central foundational economic model, nor does it recommend a particular path for achieving its goals. Rather, it is essentially a very pragmatic...
Over 300 'How to Guides' to Help You Bring a More Beautiful World into Being
Shareable · We can create the more beautiful world we want for ourselves and future generations with a simple and powerful idea: "sharing"
The River of Vision: "If the World is Saved it Won't be Saved by Old Minds with New Programs."
Resilience, the Global Challenge, and the Human Predicament
Michael Lerner · We face a perfect storm of environmental, social, technological, economic, geopolitical and other global stressors. These global stressors interact in unpredictable ways. The pace of future shocks is increasing. The prospect for...
An Intro to the Story of Separation
13 min · "What we take for the reality outside of ourselves can be understood as a story we're telling ourselves about who we are and how the world works." - Charles Eisenstein
The Core of the Indigenous Worldview
11 min · "If we want to be motivated by love, we have to ask 'where does that love come from?'" - Charles Eisenstein
Occupy Your Mind: On Power, Knowledge, and the Re-Occupation of Common Sense
Carol Black · One of the most profound changes that occurs when modern schooling is introduced into traditional societies around the world is a radical shift in the locus of power and control over learning from children, families, and communities to...
Core Nonviolence Commitments
Miki Kashtan · I have not found a word that captures the exact line that I am looking for. Commitment may be a bit too strong, and tends to connote “should,” thus invoking the non-choiceful energy of obligation and duty. “Intention” is not strong...
Initiation Into a Living Planet
Charles Eisenstein · Most people have passed through some kind of initiation in life. By that, I mean a crisis that defies what you knew and what you were. From the rubble of the ensuing collapse, a new self is born into a new world.
The Bemidji Statement on Seventh Generation Guardianship
Indigenous Environmental Network · During the winter months of 2005-2006, several handfuls of people from numerous places throughout North America came together at two different locations to create The Bemidji Statement on Seventh Generation Guardianship (Bemidji...
The Circle of Courage – Native American Model of Education
Reclaiming Youth International · “Anthropologists have long known that Native Americans reared courageous, respectful children without using harsh coercive controls. Nevertheless, Europeans colonizing North America tried to “civilize” indigenous children in punitive...
Dear White People. An Open Letter to White People on Becoming Indigenous
Indigenous Principles of a Just Transition
Indigenous Environmental Network · INTRODUCTION TO JUST TRANSITION “Indigenous prophecy meets scientific prediction. What we have known and believed, you also now know: The Earth is out of balance. The plants are disappearing, the animals are dying, and the very weather...

 

As you've just seen from the examples above, the New Story revolution is springing up within communities all over the world.

It is decentralized, arising organically and independently, from no single source. 

That so many people around the world are coming to similar conclusions speaks to the fact that this vision of the world may be a form of natural intelligence or evolutionary principle. Just as life "arrives" at certain adaptations that are conducive to life, diverse global cultures are discovering a cultural foundation that serves the diverse lives of people. 

There may be 10,000 ways of articulating this story, but there's an underlying vision that connects them all. While it would be impossible to fully articulate this shared vision, we can each add our unique song. 

This New (& Ancient) Story is not fully written. It is taking shape as millions of people are writing it into existence with each day of their lives.

As an old saying goes, "We make the path by walking," and as the internet connects our movement of movements in ever stronger mesh networks, this revolution of the heart grows deeper every day.

 

The natural world is the larger sacred community to which we belong. To be alienated from this community is to become destitute in all that makes us human. To damage this community is to diminish our own existence. -Thomas Berry

 

Tim Hjersted is the co-founder and director of Films For Action, a people-powered library for social change.

Films For Action was formed by a few friends from Lawrence, Kansas in 2006 in response to a fundamental critique of our highly consolidated, for-profit media system. We believe a healthy media ecosystem is essential to a healthy democracy.

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