I’m launching an important new course for 2026 on how to deal with political turmoil.
Here’s why:
Sometimes it seems like the world we live in is falling apart in terrifying ways.
I am oppressed by the knowledge that the world is going in a very wrong direction right now. Anxiety about how things will turn out is a huge burden to carry. The events happening around me, once unthinkable, are now shocking and I look on in disbelief. It’s like waking up one day and realizing you’re on the wrong timeline. How can this happen?
Many of the things we hold dear have been lost or threatened. A livable climate, freedom of speech, the rule of law and due process, the credibility of the United States as an international partner, the expectation that the world will “never learn” about genocide, the assumption that just because a great power can invade a small country it shouldn’t, the belief that all lives matter and racism and xenophobia are wrong, an economy that allows ordinary people to better themselves, faith in science and medicine, and even democracy itself.
In many ways, the familiar world (albeit imperfectly) seems to be collapsing around us, to be replaced by something crueler and more impersonal. Although largely defeated, the forces of authoritarianism and fascism persist, even in liberal democracies, and are making a dark comeback.
Change is hitting us so fast that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. We may become paralyzed with fear. We may feel hopeless and want to give up. We may find ourselves consumed by anger.
Some people may be tired of politics. You might just want to hide it.
But that’s what the authoritarians want. They do and say incredibly cruel things at such an outrageous pace that we become overwhelmed and hopeless and stop paying attention. We can’t allow that to happen because it will only make things worse. Too many people will suffer.
We cannot directly change the upsetting events happening in the world around us. But you can change how you respond to them. And if you want to change the direction of the world, you have to do it.
new course
For the past few months, I’ve been working on a new course on how to stay calm, open-minded, and optimistic while the world is falling apart.
This course is structured around three broad headings of spiritual practice.
Stay grounded: This means learning how to calm yourself in the midst of confusion and anger. This includes not only mindfulness, but also the gentle sense of empowerment that comes from knowing you are doing the best you can with the resources available to you. We practice self-care to keep ourselves balanced. Reading the news and using social media makes us smarter. Heartwide Openness: This includes actions such as supporting ourselves with self-compassion, being open to the suffering of others, and cultivating joy as a form of resistance. That includes becoming more fearless. It involves reconnecting with the good that exists in the world and remembering that there are more people who want peace and unity than people who want violence and division. It involves connecting and collaborating with those people. Keep looking up: This involves developing and maintaining a belief in a better world. It involves becoming clearer about what a better world looks like. It’s about learning how to work with other people of good will to make that happen.
Taking action, which is one of the focuses of this course, does not necessarily mean becoming an activist. That might mean encouraging those who do. That might mean holding a sign at a rally. It might mean contributing to a group working for good. That might mean reaching out to others who know what’s happening is wrong and offering each other emotional support. This may include smiling at strangers and showing them that you are not afraid. That might mean reading an inspirational book with a friend. No matter how small something we can do, it is important to do it.
We can start building a better world from here, right now. In the future, you’ll want to be able to say, “We couldn’t stop them, but we slowed them down. And when the madness collapsed on its own, we were already thinking about how we wanted to rebuild things.”
structure
This course is based on other courses I have run in the past, particularly “Love Your Enemies” and “Politics As a Spiritual Practice”, which many people have found helpful. I have significantly reworked the material in those courses and created new content to ensure that we address the new threats of fascism and authoritarianism, how to resist them, how to coexist with them, and how to prevent them from happening next time.
This course starts on Wednesday 28th January. This course is emailed weekly and will be sent on Wednesdays at 5am ET. Each email contains a substantive essay, or portion of an essay. There is some meditation, but the emphasis is on reading, reflection, and suggestions for practice. The number of emails has not been finalized, but the course will likely run throughout the year. Every two weeks we have a live Zoom discussion group where we can talk about articles, our thoughts and feelings, and our lives. We aim to do these at two different times to accommodate people in the US, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Keep in mind that it is impossible to fit everyone’s schedule. Details will be announced later. You can also have a written discussion on the community website. Participation and sharing are key.
Our world collapsing is an opportunity
The title of this course is not meant to be alarming or depressing. In a sense, the world is always falling apart. Our own bodies are now disintegrating. The leaves in the photo above are falling apart. What holds things together is the ongoing work of building and maintaining. In addition to falling apart, your body is constantly healing and growing. Falling apart leaves is a condition that supports the growth of new leaves. Old organizations disappear and new organizations are created.
The old world collapses like a leaf withers. Looks like you’re losing money. But it also presents new opportunities for growth. We know that no matter how much we mourn the loss of the world, we can never restore it to its original state. And it shouldn’t. The world has fallen apart because it has been bad for too many people. What we grow among the fallen leaves must be better, more just, more just, more humane. It must be a world where all people can thrive. That’s what we should aim for. What kind of world is that? How do we get there? Let’s talk about it together.
This course is open only to those sponsored by Wildmind, so it gives me the opportunity to reflect and write. But becoming a sponsor is easy and only costs $8 a month. It’s a healthy investment in the quest to feel happy and balanced in the midst of chaos, and to be more helpful to a suffering world.
with love,
Bodhipasha
