COP26 takes place in Glasgow, Scotland in November of this year.  This is our best  - possibly our last - chance to persuade those who govern the world that the climate and ecological emergency needs swift and radical action.  So how can we get the message through to those who are driving our collective bus that they need to turn the wheel before we all hurtle over a cliff?  How can we persuade them that 'business as usual' is no longer an option, or that alternatives do exist if we only had the creativity, imagination, courage and empathy to make them work? This week, we speak to two people involved in two separate Pilgrimages to Glasgow to find out what they're planning and why. Benjamin Christie is driven by the deeply held belief in the possibility of a more equitable, sustainable and harmonious world. He works to support NGOs and ethical businesses develop and achieve their goals. With a career spanning events, media and business development, Benjamin has been fortunate enough to gain experience of many different countries, environments and partnerships at first hand.  He's speaking on behalf of the SPINE OF ALBION Pilgrimage which is walking from the southernmost tip of England to the northernmost tip of Scotland - through Glasgow at the time of COP26. Links to his work and activities include: http://www.listeningtotheland.com/https://medicinefestival.com/https://www.wisdomkeepers.earth/Bamber Hawes says of himself that he is 'a Thing Maker'. He trained as an Industrial Designer in Sussex, then moved to London and had various companies making furniture, building sets and film props, art directing and modelmaking.In 2005, after 22 years living in Hackney just off the Murder Mile he 'ran away from his annoying media clients' to Bishop's Castle in South Shropshire, where he now is a picture framer, furniture maker, artist and Art Co ordinator for an Art Trail and is a Town Councillor.Now, he has created CLARION, a 10 foot Polar Bear made to be portable. He and Clarion will be walking from his home in Bishop's Castle to Glasgow in time for COP.  Instagram:   @clarion_the_bearFacebook:   Clarion_the_BearTwitter:       @BearClarion     His call to those who might want to join him is this: Calling anyone who would like to be part of a commitment to our living, breathing Earth and the future of all life. I am organising a Climate Crisis Pilgrimage from South Shropshire to the COP26 climate talks that starts on 1st November in Glasgow. Would you be interested in joining me for a day of walking as I progress northward?I will be doing the whole 306 mile walk which will take 22 days.  Each day I will be joined by local people from the area that I have reached. The unusual thing is that I will be accompanied by a ten foot high sculpture of a polar bear, that I have made.  The bear, called Clarion, is made from thin bamboo poles, willow withies and many layers of heavy duty tissue paper bonded together with waterproof PVA.  He is carried on a palanquin.              He ain't heavy! I am looking for people to join me for a day walking along footpaths, bridle paths, canal towpaths and B roads.  The intention for this pilgrimage is to come together to walk, to talk, to connect with each other, to connect with the landscape by moving through it slowly, admiring its beauty and grandeur.  To be positive and kind, and to build active hope. To smile and laugh while being serious.Walking to the climate talks will not change the world ~ but I can think of nothing better to do to show the earnestness of my belief that we must learn to talk together and build community, only in Oneness will we make a better more just world.   Clarion and I will be coming through your area on these dates:DAY ONE 10th October    Bishop's Castle to LongdenDAY TWO 11th October    Longden to Platt LaneDAY THREE 12th October    Platt Lane to BulkeleyDAY FOUR 13th October    Bulkeley to KingsleyDAY FIVE 14th October    Kingsley to RainhillDAY SIX 15th October    Rainhill to Appleby BridgeDAY SEVEN 16th October    Appleby Bridge to MiddleforthDAY EIGHT 17th October    Middleforth to GarstangDAY NINE  18th October    Garstang to LancasterDAY TEN  19th October    Lancaster to HincasterDAY ELEVEN 20th October    Hincaster to SadgillDAY TWELVE 21st October    Sadgill to AskhamDAY THIRTEEN 22nd October    Askham to CalthwaiteDAY FOURTEEN 23rd October    Calthwaite to CargoDAY FIFTEEN  24th October    Carge to Stapleton GrangeDAY SIXTEEN  25th October    Stapleton Grange to LockerbieDAY SEVENTEEN  26th October    Lockerbie to MosslandsDAY EIGHTEEN  27th October    Mosslands to ElvanfootDAY NINETEEN  28th October    Elvanfoot to DouglasDAY TWENTY  29th October    Douglas to StrathavenDAY TWENTY ONE 30th  October    Strathaven to BusbyDAY TWENTY TWO  31st October    Day offDAY TWENTY THREE  1st November    Busby to COP26 The complete itinerary will be on Facebook soon : Clarion the Bear So, please consider coming along as a treasured, intrepid pilgrim.I assure you this will not be a shouty, banner waving demonstrating rabble.This pilgrimage will be in the media, and I am sure it will be praised and vilified. If you are not a walker perhaps you would like to still be part of this by being a driver, delivering walkers at the start of the day and/or collecting them at the end. Contact me on Social media or on 07957 667 847 No small children, no dogs, no alcohol. Thank you Bamber the Human and Clarion the Bear

Accidental Gods

The Road to Glasgow: Climate Pilgrimages converging on COP26 with Bamber Hawes and Benjamin Christie.

Matthew Taylor, CBE FAcSS, is the Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, but before that, he was Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the Arts (or more properly, for the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) - and before that, he was head of the Number 10 Policy Unit for Tony Blair's Labour Government.  He is a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze, presents 'Agree to Differ' and occasionally, Analysis on the same channel. He's also deeply interested in the intersection between neurophysiology, psychology and human behaviour  - and how we can bring these to bear on the current transformative moment in our history.  In this episode, we explore his ideas around 'co-ordination theory' and how we can use them to create new politics and new ways of organising our society to give more people a better, more equitable say in how we make things happen. Matthew Taylor blog: https://www.thersa.org/blog/matthew-taylorMinimate: Co-ordination theory:  https://youtu.be/-54DxHlOMnc

A Bridge to the Future: Walking the path between Wisdom and Despair with Matthew Taylor

With a background in medicine and psychology, Chris Johnstone's work over the last thirty years has focused on exploring what helps us face disturbing situations (whether in our own lives or the world) and respond in ways that nourish resilience and well-being. His books include Active Hope (co-authored with Joanna Macy and translated into more than eleven languages) and Seven Ways to Build Resilience. His online resilience courses have attracted students from more than sixty countries. He lives in the north of Scotland where he teaches online at CollegeOfWellbeing.com, ResilienceTraining.net and ActiveHope.TrainingMadeleine Young is a permaculturist, homeopath and XR activist.  She's a trained facilitator in The Work that Reconnects and has helped to co-create the Active Hope online training. Find their free video-based online course in Active Hope at https://activehope.trainingOnline resilience courses at https://resiliencetraining.nethttps://www.activehope.infohttp://collegeofwellbeing.comhttps://chrisjohnstone.info

Active Hope: bringing resilience and reconnection to the world with Chris Johnstone and Madeleine Young

Sacred Design Lab is a soul-centred research and development lab that explores and interprets the changing landscape of spiritual and community life. The Lab collaborates with divinely restless, intellectually curious and entrepreneurially practical leaders to help design and prototype the spiritual communities and infrastructure of the future, interpreting ancient best practice in the service of transformation. Sue Philips, one of the co-founders of the Lab says of herself that, 'I am relentlessly curious about liberating ancient wisdom to solve complex problems. I’m passionate about inspiring spiritual flourishing, designing for meaning making, and witnessing the transformation that happens when people roam around in what matters most.My wife and I share our 30-minute “family chapel” every morning, to remember who we want to be and what we care about, and to cultivate imagination for “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.”1I’m part business strategist, part design geek, and part monastic. On any given day I might read liberation theology, human-centered design briefs, or business school case studies. Ideally all of them side by side. I graduated from Colgate University and the Episcopal Divinity School, and taught at Harvard Divinity School, where I am a Ministry Innovation Fellow. My wife and I live in Tacoma, WA with whichever of our five children is passing through.'As we hover on the edge of the Great Turning, increasingly, we seek a spiritual foundation that is fit for purpose in the twenty-first century. In this week's podcast, we discuss how that might come about, how we might recognise broad spiritual foundations that are universal and useful to support our connection with a numinous world. Links: Sacred Design Lab: https://sacred.design

Being, Belonging, Beyond: Bringing the sacred to a turbulent world with Sue Philips of Sacred Design labs

Sophie Miller trained at Central St Martins before moving on to a decade-long career in television design.  Now, she gives her time and energy to Extinction Rebellion as a Red Rebel - and to Ocean Rebellion, of which she is a co-founder.   She lives in Cornwall, and so when she discovered that the first post-Covid G7 summit was taking place in her country and her county, she had to ask. In this week's second inspiring podcast, she describes what it actually takes to mount a successful action in the current political climate.  She talks of the growing support from all aspects of the Fourth Estate and - movingly - of the practical - and spiritual - path that has brought her to this place and this time. She speaks as an activist who understands the damage done to the Oceans, knowing that there is still time to change what we're doing.   We discuss the nature of policing, of totalitarianism - and the ways we can all work to transcend the crushing forces of authority to bring something deeper and more profound to our world.  https://oceanrebellion.earthhttps://rebellion.globalhttps://extinctionrebellion.uk

The Mermaids had to happen! Reflections on G7 activism - and beyond with Sophie Miller

Sophie Miller trained at Central St Martins before moving on to a decade-long career in television design.  Now, she gives her time and energy to Extinction Rebellion as a Red Rebel - and to Ocean Rebellion, of which she is a co-founder.   She lives in Cornwall, and so when she discovered that the first post-Covid G7 summit was taking place in her country and her county, she had to ask. In this week's inspiring podcast, she describes the practical - and spiritual - path that has brought her to this place and this time - as an activist who understands the damage done to the Oceans -and that there is still time to change what we're doing.   We discuss the nature of policing, of totalitarianism - and the ways we can transcend the crushing forces of authority to bring something deeper and more profound to our world.   This is the first of two parts. Next week, we'll be back to find out how the activism transpired and where we all go from here. https://oceanrebellion.earthhttps://rebellion.globalhttps://extinctionrebellion.uk

Fire at Sea: bringing activism - and mermaids! - to the G7 summit with Sophie Miller

How do we unpick the damage of Neoliberalism?  How can we break the connections between work and income and unsustainable consumerism?  Amidst the ideas of how our climate is changing, Professor Mark Maslin, FRGS, FRSA, offers answers to the social and economic ills of our time.  Mark Maslin FRGS, FRSA is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London. He is a Royal Society Industrial Fellowship, Executive Director of Rezatec Ltd and Director of The London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership. He is a member of Cheltenham Science Festival Advisory Committee and sits on the Corporate Social Responsibility Board of the Sopria-Steria Group and Sheep Included Ltd. Mark is a leading scientist with particular expertise in past global and regional climatic change. He has published over 175 papers in journals such as Science, Nature, and The Lancet. His areas of scientific expertise include causes of past and future global climate change and its effects on the global carbon cycle, biodiversity, rainforests and human evolution. He also works on monitoring land carbon sinks using remote sensing and ecological models and international and national climate change policies, and has presented over 50 public talks over the last five years including Google UK, Twitter EU, New Scientist Live, UK Space conference, Oxford, Cambridge, RGS, Tate Modern, Royal Society of Medicine, Fink Club, Frontline Club, British Museum, Natural History Museum, Goldman Sachs, the Norwegian Government, UNFCCC COP and the WTO. He has also written 8 popular books, over 60 popular articles. His “Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction” by Oxford University Press is now in its fourth edition and has sold over 50,000 copies. In this podcast, we talk about his most recent book, 'How to Save our Planet: the Facts' which does exactly what it says on the tin. A crips, cleanly written, utterly absorbing book, this is one of the clearest books ever written on the nature of the problems that assail us, the fact that it's not too late to change - and what we need to do at every level of society to change things.  It's small enough to leave in the smallest room of the house - or by the kettle in the kitchen - so that everyone who comes by can pick it up and learn something useful.  This is how we change the world, one aphorism at a time. Links from the podcast How to Save Our Planet: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320/320155/how-to-save-our-planet/9780241472521.htmlMark Maslin's home page: https://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/mark-maslinReview of Bill Gates's book: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12115-021-00581-zThe Conversation: How bad could things be if we do nothing?: https://theconversation.com/climate-change-how-bad-could-the-future-be-if-we-do-nothing-159665

How to Save the our Planet: the Facts - with Professor Mark Maslin

Alexandra Kurland is a horse clicker trainer, behaviourist, classical rider - and convenor of the annual (now bi-annual) Science Camp that explores the art and science of positive reinforcement. She is host of the Horses for Future podcast, co-host of the Equiosity podcast, and author of The Click that Teaches and a whole host of other books and online courses about horse training.  In today's podcast - the second of two - Alex and Manda continue to dive deeply into the fundamental question of our time - how do we bring people of widely disparate political views to a point where we all pull together to create a flourishing, generative future for people and planet?  We have the answers. We just need to see the possibilities and be emotionally and psychologically prepared to apply them.  So this is a behavioural problem now, not a technological one.  Which means it needs the brightest behavioural minds on the planet to begin to think about it.  And we can start now... The Clicker Center: https://www.theclickercenter.comEquiosity: https://www.equiosity.comHorses for Future: https://kurlanda.wixsite.com/sequestercarbonMary Hunter: PORTL shaping: https://behaviorexplorer.com/author/mary/An Introduction to PORTL shaping: https://www.artandscienceofanimaltraining.org/tools/portl-shaping-game/The New Climate War by Michael Mann: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-New-Climate-War-by-Michael-E-Mann-author/9781913348687

Behave More! Rebuilding Our World Differently with Alexandra Kurland

Alexandra Kurland is a horse clicker trainer, behaviourist, classical rider - and convenor of the annual (now bi-annual) Science Camp that explores the art and science of positive reinforcement. She is host of the Horses for Future podcast, co-host of the Equiosity podcast, and author of The Click that Teaches and a whole host of other books and online courses about horse training.  In today's podcast - the first of two - Alex and Manda explore one of the fundamental questions of our time - how do we bring people of widely disparate political views to a point where we all pull together to create a flourishing, generative future for people and planet?  We have the answers. We just need to see the possibilities and be emotionally and psychologically prepared to apply them.  So this is a behavioural problem now, not a technological one.  Which means it needs the brightest behavioural minds on the planet to begin to think about it.  And we can start now... The Clicker Center: https://www.theclickercenter.comEquiosity: https://www.equiosity.comHorses for Future: https://kurlanda.wixsite.com/sequestercarbonMary Hunter: PORTL shaping: https://behaviorexplorer.com/author/mary/An Introduction to PORTL shaping: https://www.artandscienceofanimaltraining.org/tools/portl-shaping-game/The New Climate War by Michael Mann: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-New-Climate-War-by-Michael-E-Mann-author/9781913348687

Behave! - Solving the existential crisis of our times, with Alexandra Kurland

Mothiur Rahman is founder of New Economy Law and a pioneer member of XR.  In his first podcast with us, we explored the work he has done, helping to create a law that works for ordinary people.  This week, we look at the ways the current system is breaking the law and how we can help to re-weave it into something that helps people and planet to flourish. New Economy LawArticle: Stir for Action - Land and PowerArticle: Resurgence & Ecologist - Extinction Rebellion, A Civil Rights MovementPresentation: UKELA Wildlaw Conference hosted at Sussex University (2019)Presentation: Vaults Festival 2019 - Decoloniality & Rewilding Psyche

The Hijacking of our Common Law - and how to set it free: with Mothiur Rahman of the New Economy Law Center

Braver Angels - originally Better Angels - came into being after the divisive nightmare of the 2016 Presidential Election in the US.  It began with a group of people in a barn in South Lebanon Ohio and has since spread to 20,000 people around the US, with chapters in other nations around the world.  Their skill - their superpower - is to bring the social and humane technologies originally created to help bring together couples on the brink of the most acrimonious divorces.  With skills in listening and a good dose of empathy, they help us to see the humanity in each other and so find the best of ourselves to bring to the table.  John Wood Jr is an Ambassador for Braver Angels and has been working in the depths of the partisan divide.  In this podcast episode, he shares the experience and wisdom of his journey, and that of the Braver Angels project.  Details here:  https://braverangels.org

Braver Angels: building trust, empathy and decency across the political chasm

"When do you feel most alive? When are you most open and connected with a deeper sense of being? When do you fall in love with life and want to turn towards the world with hope and care?Perhaps, like us, your sacred ground is the earth under your feet… your sacred spaces are cathedrals of trees with branches filled with wind and rain, sunlight or stars… your baptismal pools are filled with deep brown river water or the wild and salty sea. Perhaps, like us, you yearn to share this… for spiritual community, for authentic meeting and deep silence with people and with all beings. So, welcome to wild church!"In this podcast, we explore Sam's journey to the founding of the Wild Church and Wild Monastics - how these fulfil the need for deep connection, and where her spiritual activism has taken her since the pandemic began.  Wild Church (including Wild Monastics): https://www.riverdartwildchurch.comWild Wisdom School: https://wildwisdomschool.comWild Spirit Community: https://wildspiritcommunity.com/founder/Blog Post: Returning to the Monastery of the Heart 

River Dart Wild Church: Druid Christian Sam Wernham, founder of a land-based church explores the nature of wild contemplation.

Ece Temelkuran is one of the Turkey’s best known novelist and political commentators. She has contributed to the Guardian, Newstatesman, New Left Review, Le Monde Diplomatique, Frankfurter Rundschau, Der Spiegel, The New York Times and Berliner Zeitung.Her books of investigative journalism broach subjects that are highly controversial in Turkey, such as the Kurdish and Armenian issues and freedom of expression.Her novel Women Who Blow on Knots won a PEN Translates award, sold over 120.000 copies in Turkey, and has been published in translation in Germany, Croatia, Poland, Bosnia and France with editions also forthcoming in China, Italy and the USA.Her non-fiction work: HOW TO LOSE A COUNTRY is a searing indictment of the rise of the neo-fascist right around the world, rooted firmly in her own experience in Turkey. TOGETHER breaks new ground - a series of ten essays, each exploring life - hers and the world's - and ways the human spirit rises above the exigencies and horrors that we can create - to manifest the bright points of human existence that signal hope for the world. The writing is lyrical, sharply insightful and deeply moving. In this podcast, we explore the woman beneath the words - and the ways we can take what she offers to bring us all closer together. Ece Temelkuran's Website https://www.ecetemelkuran.comTogether: the book -  https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Together-by-Ece-Temelkuran-author/9780008393809

Together: best-selling author Ece Temelkuran talks about her new book - and why dignity matters more than nationalist pride

How would the world flourish if our politics were based on trust? And how can we make that happen? Eva and Justin are co-creating the 'ReWorlding' online conference in late May and we came together to explore how even the making of this has been an exploration of what it is to be human, to trust, to grow and to dare to be different. More at https://accidentalgods.life

ReWorlding: Co-Creating a Politics of Wholeness with Eva Schonveld and Justin Kenrick

Regenerative Farming - or Agro-ecology - is being widely recognised as one of the best ways to mitigate the climate crisis. But how does it actually work? What can we do with our back gardens, our rooftops, our local verges to make a difference? Navona Gallegos explains the science - and the spirit - of working with the land.

Webs of Connection: Rebuilding soil, talking with bees and the magic of fungi with Navona Gallegos

Exploring the liminal space between science and spirituality, philosophy and politics, art and activism - working towards the Conscious Evolution of humanity: a radical transformation of what it means to be human. We have the choice now, to transform - or to face the chaos of a failing system. Our Choice. Our Chance. Our Future. Join the evolution at: https://accidentalgods.life

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Accidental Gods

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