The sequel to Duane Elgin’s bestselling classic Voluntary Simplicity, which changed the lives of thousands and was called the “bible” of the simplicity movement by the Wall Street Journal, Promise Ahead looks beneath the headlines to reveal the deeper currents now changing our lives.
Elgin sees two powerful sets of trends converging in the coming decades. The first set he calls “adversity trends.” These include
1. Global climate changes that threaten our food supply
2. Massive human population
3. Mass extinction of species
4. Rapid depletion of crucial natural resources
5. Civil unrest caused by global poverty.
The second set he calls “opportunity trends.” These include
1. Recognition of the universe as a living system
2. The quiet revolution toward simpler ways of living
3. Use of the Internet as a tool for social awareness and change
4. Growing efforts toward reconciliation of racial, gender, religious, and other differences
If we meet these unprecedented challenges, we can make a dramatic leap in our evolutionary journey and will have a very promising future.
Here is a breathtaking view of the future that is relevant for anyone seeking to navigate through our profoundly changing world. Based on thirty years of research by one of the foremost thinkers about the future,
Promise Ahead is the sequel to Duane Elgin's bestselling 1981 classic
Voluntary Simplicity, which changed the lives of thousands and was called the "bible" of the simplicity movement by the
Wall Street Journal. In
Promise Ahead, Elgin looks beneath the headlines to reveal the deeper currents that are now changing our lives.
Elgin sees two powerful sets of trends converging in the coming decades. The first set he calls "adversity trends." These include a massive human population, global climate change that threatens our food supply, the mass extinction of species, the rapid depletion of crucial natural resources, and civil unrest caused by global poverty. The second set he calls "opportunity trends," which include the quiet revolution toward simpler and more soulful ways of living, the use of the internet as a tool for social awakening and change, the growing efforts toward reconciliation of racial, gender, religious, and other differences, and the emergence of a new paradigm of perception that views the universe as a living system of which we are an integral part.
The outcome of the intersection of adversity and opportunity trends is uncertain. However, if the human family mobilizes itself to meet this time of unprecedented challenge, we have the prospect of making a dramatic leap forward in our evolutionary journey and will have a very promising future.
Promise Ahead calls to each of us to do our part in transforming the world by becoming practical activists in our own lives and taking control of how we consume, communicate, relate to others, and see our role in the larger universe. It is a call to action for each individual and a beacon of hope to all.
"[Promise Ahead] alert[s] us to important problems and offers suggestion[s] that are genuinely constructive."--" Christian Science Monitor"The very act of envisioning a better future can in itself initiate change. . . .Promise Ahead inspire[s] those necessary dreams."--" New Age "The opportunity trends are what make this book so special, so full of hope, so powerful. Promise Ahead delivers on its promise and deserves to be widely read."--" Napra Review"Promise Ahead is essential reading for people flooded with information yet filled with confusion. Thankfully, Duane Elgin has the courage ...to provide us with a visionary and plausible road map into the deep future."-- Vicki Robin, co-author of "Your Money or Your Life"Promise Ahead is a corrective to the negative messages about the state of our world that are prevalent today. This book deserves the attention of our entire society." -- Larry Dossey, M.D., author of "Reinventing Medicine and "Healing Words"Duane Elgin already lives the future he writes about. Elgin writes with personality, passion, and persistence. Duane Elgin is calling us on a hero's journey where we can all be heroes."-- Robert Johansen, president, Institute for the Future"Promise Ahead is a powerful message for our time, a seminal contribution to the new stroy, and essential reading for those dedicated to creating a world that works for all."-- David C. Korten, author of "The Post-Corporate World and "When Corporations Rule the World"Promise Ahead is a book for the twenty-first century with a clear message: a sustainable planet is not an unreachable goal. Elgin articulates an operating manual of possibility and hope."-- Elizabeth Dowdeswell, former director, UnitedNations Environment Program"Duane Elgin's vision of our possible future is both well researched and reasoned and offers us a rare treasure--grounds for hope."-- Sam Keen, author of "Fire in the Belly and "To a Dancing God"Promise Ahead offers us a new framework for our conscious evolution. A gem to inaugurate the twenty-first century."-- Barbara Hubbard, author of "Conscious Evolution and "The Evolutionary Journey
