…The damage to the ecosystem may mean that a large-scale human presence on the planet cannot continue much longer. The obsession with self-interest cultivated by capitalism may be so deeply woven into the fabric of contemporary identity that real solidarity in affluent societies is no longer possible. The deskilling and dependency that comes with a high-energy/high-technology society has eroded crucial traditional skills. Mass-media corporations have eroticized violence and commodified intimacy at an unprecedented level, globally. None of this is crazy apocalypticism, but rather a sober assessment of the reality around us. Rather than deny the despair that flows from that assessment, we need to find a way to deal with it.

…Fortunately, many individuals and families have awoken to the reality that what our species is confronting is nothing less than the total collapse of industrial civilization and the end of the world as we have known it. They are coming to understand that the collapse is a process, not an event, and that some aspects of it will be slow and grinding, while other aspects will be sudden, catastrophic, and traumatic. And very importantly, they are becoming prepared. But how does one “prepare”, and what is preparation anyway?

As the Transition movement in the United States approaches its third year, and as it celebrates a growth spurt surpassing most social movements in recent history, individuals engaged in Transition are increasingly experiencing the more subtle nuances of its mission. Many are discovering that while awareness-raising and reskilling are deeply inspiring and rewarding, something is missing. That something is connected with the more profound reasons for embracing Transition in the first place—the inner transition that deals with our fear, grief, anger, and overall dis-satisfaction with the paradigm of industrial civilization.

…For activists and those working for change, it is extremely important to understand the trauma of the people with whom and for whom you are working, as well as your own. It accounts for the inability of so many people to look at the realities of collapse and stop pretending that a “return to normal” is imminent. And even when folks are able to look, our multitudinous forms of PTSD may keep us from realizing how little time we have to prepare and stop us from allowing ourselves to be deeply penetrated by what is truly at stake.

…As institutions crumble and the global economic meltdown worsens and morphs into irreversible collapse, many people feel lost and disoriented, especially if they have lost jobs, healthcare, experienced foreclosure or bankruptcy, and of course, if they have lost the funds which they may have spent decades assuming would be there for them in retirement. The seemingly endless losses of collapse can be terrifying and paralyzing, and it is always easier to complain about the culture than to take action to empower oneself and serve the rest of the community of life on this planet.

Over two decades ago as a psychotherapist in training, I worked in the back ward. I have the scars to prove it. I’m fortunate not to have been more severely injured, but more fortunate not to be living the hell I witnessed in the eyes of the patients inhabiting the so-called “mental health unit.” Yet unlike the inmates who run the current asylum that is empire, those folks, in that ward, really knew they were crazy. They wanted so badly to die, and they told you that, straight up. They didn’t make delusional statements like “this is a necessary war” or “this climate deal was a meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough” or “hold your nose and vote for it.”

…Rather than dragging me down into depression and despair, my acceptance of what is has liberated me both emotionally and spiritually. As I have released false hopes of “fixing” civilization cosmetically or creating a mass consciousness change that might engender mass movements, I have gained much more energy for my work and for preparation for the daunting days ahead. In other words, I have gained a visceral understanding of “crisis as opportunity”—a cliché which I bandied about earlier in my life could not fully appreciate until I allowed myself to deeply understand collapse and its ramifications.

…Everyone is talking about climate change and Copenhagen, so I suppose I should be. Of course, I talk about it every day in the Daily News Digest in one way or other with the stories I send you. The latest dither around the topic involves back and forths between adherents and deniers of the climate change hypothesis and a certain expose of emails supposedly refuting the reality of climate change and a plethora of rebuttals to those emails.

…Because few people are solidly convinced of what this pathetic culture can actually deliver, I’m finding it unnecessary and even counterproductive to keep whining about that reality. What people want and need is a sense that they’re not alone, that they’re not crazy, that there are many things they can do to enhance their personal empowerment in the context of an unraveling civilization, and very importantly, that there is work for them to do in their neighborhood and community—that they can invest their life force energy there and work with others to prepare for a deepening collapse. Curiously, I’m finding that the latter option is perhaps the most important of all.

…When was the last time you saw a movie that opened with a plea for revolution—no, not the kind with bullets and bombs, but the kind Thomas Jefferson said should happen every twenty years—a revolution in our thinking? In fact, the kind of revolution Mike Ruppert calls for in the opening scenes is one that takes place inside us. In fact, that kind of revolution is one he’s lived since he was a political science major at UCLA in the seventies. Whether you like him or not, whether you agree with him or not, you cannot argue that every word that comes out of his mouth in “Collapse”, issues from bone-marrow experience—the kind none of us would ever welcome, the kind some of us would have long since committed suicide over, the kind most of us would gladly walk away from. Yet, Mike Ruppert is still alive, still speaking his truth, and amazingly, still able to laugh and play music.