Creating ecstatic experiences in a world that's lost its mind
Surviving the meaning crisis, indigenous culture, and social permaculture.
Hi friend!
Welcome back to Connection Club – a debrief for community builders, facilitators, and human connection professionals. Here I share practical insights on making the world a more connected, communal, and transcendent place. 💫
– Phil
How to survive the meaning crisis
A few months ago, I was in a state of panicked anxiety after listening to a podcast about ecological overshoot. 48 hours later, I watched Jamie Wheal’s brilliant Rebel Wisdom talk and immediately started to calm down. I went on to devour his 400-page book, Recapture the Rapture, in three weeks.
Jamie argues that we need ecstasis (peak experiences), catharsis (healing), and communitas (communal experiences), to survive the crises of our day. Otherwise, we’ll devolve into fundamentalism or nihilism. Reading this brilliant book gave me the resolution of a Spartan warrior.
So I typed up my notes from part 1 into a very readable essay.
I recommend this book for:
The inventors of tomorrow’s religions.
Leaders who don’t want to succumb to tribalism.
Workshop facilitators who use embodiment, breathwork, music, or substances.
Indigenous Culture vs. Psytrance Ravers
This is not your average festival documentary.
Tribes and Trance explores the contradictions of Panama’s Tribal Gathering Festival –an experience beginning with 10 days of indigenous healing workshops, then 5 days of psytrance raving.
The organizers clearly want these two cultures to mix, but do they? Tribes and Trance explores decolonization in festival culture in a balanced and thought-provoking way.
Tribal Brazilian Mixtape
I’m honored to announce that Ritmos Del Sur just released my latest mixtape! It’s an hour-long tribal Brazilian dance journey.
I spent a solid four months programming it, and it feels so good to see it resonating. The Youtube version already has 10,000 plays in two weeks! 😮
P.S. Want more Brazilian music? Allow this playlist of soothing medicine music to transport you to an island of bliss.
Quotes + Learnings
Facilitation
In your closing circles, instead of asking “How did you feel?” Ask, “Did you notice any specific feelings come up for you?” Kevin Coleman, who leads theatre productions for at-risk youth, has noticed that asking participants to come up with a specific emotion (not just “I felt good…”), leads to more profound breakthroughs.
Permaculture Principles for Community Builders
"The number of connections among elements creates a healthy, diverse ecosystem–not the number of elements."
“The edge effect is an ecological concept that describes how there is a greater diversity of life in the region where the edges two adjacent ecosystems overlap”
"Make the least change for the greatest effect. Understand the system you are working with well enough to find its ‘leverage points’ and intervene there, where the least work accomplished the most change."
Thank you for being here.
I hope you feel inspired to be a beacon for connection in this crazy world. Also, please comment if you have any questions, tips, or feedback. I’m grateful for every email.
– Phil