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Sacred Demise: Walking the Spiritual Path of Industrial Civilization's Collapse
The collapse of industrial civilization is rapidly unfolding and offers us an opportunity far beyond mere survival, even as it renders absurd any attempts to "fix" or prevent the end of the world as we have known it. Sacred Demise is about the transformation of human consciousness and the emergence of a new paradigm as a result discovering our purpose in the collapse process, thereby coming home to our ultimate place in the universe. Our willingness to consciously embark on the journey with openness and uncertainty may be advantageous for engendering a quantum evolutionary leap for our species and for the earth community. "Carolyn Baker is tireless in her quest to understand and speak about the collapse of civilization. Her message is simple: our journey through collapse will be as much a spiritual one as a physical one, a journey back from profound disconnection to the sacred. And so our emotional, psychological and spiritual preparations will be as important as the gardens we plant, the healing skills we acquire, and the actions we take in defense of the community of life. A book of tools and exercises to help with that preparation, then, is a welcome and much-needed addition to the literature of collapse."--Tim Bennett and Sally Erickson, Writer and Producer of the documentary "What A Way To Go: Life At the End of Empire"
"Carolyn speaks with a confidence that never flinches from entering into the hardest truths of our times, or from the most difficult truths about the culture we are immersed in, so that we might emerge from the chrysalis of global crisis with open hearts and a renewed way of living on Earth together."--Juan Santos, Fourth World Blogspot
"Carolyn speaks with a confidence that never flinches from entering into the hardest truths of our times, or from the most difficult truths about the culture we are immersed in, so that we might emerge from the chrysalis of global crisis with open hearts and a renewed way of living on Earth together."--Juan Santos, Fourth World Blogspot
392 pages, Paperback
First published February 19, 2009
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135 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 7, 2010
I purchased this book based on reviews of its primary thesis, with which I agree. (The likelihood of catastrophic change, and the need for creative approaches to it.) But I am underwhelmed by the advice given.
Has anyone else read this, with willingness to explore more creative approaches?
Has anyone else read this, with willingness to explore more creative approaches?
October 11, 2021
This is the second time I've read this book and won't be the last, and I get something different from it each time. Some of it is harsh to read, but some actually gives me a sense of relief, to find someone willing to state their position without buffering it with false hope. The future is going to be hard, and there's no way to soften that statement. Our dreams are going to have to adjust, and that's painful. My biggest question coming away from the book is, "When do you know it's time to head for the hills?" How long do we hang in there and work and when do we leave? How do we start this conversation with our families, coworkers, and friends? At what point do I tell the family, "I'm heading for the bush. Come join me when you're ready." Anyway, lots of food for thought.
March 16, 2021
This book goes over the collapse of industrial civilization as we are living through it today and offers us tools beyond merely surviving. A tough but very important read, especially for right now.
We are living through collapse right now, which is something most people have a hard time realizing. This gives us tools to acknowledge it happening and shows us how to reconnect with the earth and what is beyond just ourselves.
“If we are willing, like our indigenous ancestors, to engage in the struggle to liberate our bodies and souls from external and internal colonization, we may discover more fully our own deeper story and what it is that we came here to do.”
We are living through collapse right now, which is something most people have a hard time realizing. This gives us tools to acknowledge it happening and shows us how to reconnect with the earth and what is beyond just ourselves.
“If we are willing, like our indigenous ancestors, to engage in the struggle to liberate our bodies and souls from external and internal colonization, we may discover more fully our own deeper story and what it is that we came here to do.”
August 31, 2022
How far can one hammer a nail into a board?
September 13, 2016
I'm staring at a bit of a dog-eared wreck, to be honest; but it's the words that matter, providing I can still read them. The thing is, my copy of Carolyn Baker's Sacred Demise has followed me around on walks, road journeys, train trips, in the rain, in the sun, under trees, over hills and in dirty streets littered with Coke cans and paper. I had to finish it, despite it not being an obvious thing of beauty; despite it being a book that I learnt to fear as much as embrace with love and empathy. Some things are just necessary, like hugging your children and eating your greens.
Sacred Demise is not an easy book to read; for sure, Carolyn's words trip across the page, often with a delightful spring in their step, but then without warning they cross your path and send you flying into the nearest ditch, leaving you wondering how you ended up there. The idea of accepting the end of civilization as inevitable can be approached pragmatically, in the style of Dmitry Orlov, which is ideal for those who are mentally prepared; but for the vast majority of us who still identify "deep down" with the culture we were born into, you don't only need rope and handholds to descend the Dark Mountain: you need the will to get you through the journey.
This is not a book to read quickly. Do it right and for the most part you will be reflecting on and writing about what you have just read. Each chapter ends with a set of questions that take into account the previous text, and which ask you to consider your feelings and physical situation - in effect, how ready are you? From a technical point of view, Sacred Demise could have been laid out in a manner that emphasises the importance of this self-reflection process better: perhaps a separate workbook, larger pages for journaling. But to give Carolyn her due, she does provide note space, and the book is, to all intents and purposes, self published (yes, I was rather surprised too).
One thing that Carolyn Baker does do very well is express complex and emotive ideas in an easy to understand way, far better - if I may be so bold - than some of the writers that she quotes from. She does have an occasional tendency to present ideas of faith as fact, for instance in quoting Eckhart Tolle, she states: "While it is true that we are more than our bodies", which is a fine topic for discussion, but not something that would be welcome on the table of many modern philosophers. There is also an element of parochialism in some of the text, as though the civilized world consists of America and nothing else - more of an irritant than a major flaw, being English myself, but nevertheless something that could alienate non-American readers.
But these are minor flaws in a superb book. Sacred Demise is little short of seminal; the start, perhaps, of a way of writing and speaking that is paramount at the end of the Age of Empire. There are far too many lucid and memorable moments to quote them all, but if I had to choose a passage that sums up what Sacred Demise means to me, it would be this, from the cathartic chapter, "Hospice as Holy Ground":
"Had civilization not spent the last five thousand years attempting to murder the indigenous self inherent in all humans, we would not have to be told, as native peoples and the more-than-human world do not, that most of the time, life on this planet is challenging, painful, scary, sad, and sometimes enraging. What our indigenous ancestors had and still have to sustain them through the dark times was ritual and community. Our work is to embrace and refine both instead of intractably clinging to a "positive attitude" in the face of out-of-control, incalculable abuse and devastation."
Had I read this at the beginning of the book, then I may have given up there and then, but the aim of Sacred Demise is not a quick grab-you-by-the-arms and haul you up into the safety of the tree canopy; instead, it is a journey, and a damn hard one at that if you are not prepared to open up and accept the fate of civilization. This means that this book is perhaps not the first thing you should read when approaching the subject of ecological collapse and your place in the future; on the other hand, if you don't read Sacred Demise then you had better be ready for the shock of your life when the collapse comes.
Sacred Demise is not an easy book to read; for sure, Carolyn's words trip across the page, often with a delightful spring in their step, but then without warning they cross your path and send you flying into the nearest ditch, leaving you wondering how you ended up there. The idea of accepting the end of civilization as inevitable can be approached pragmatically, in the style of Dmitry Orlov, which is ideal for those who are mentally prepared; but for the vast majority of us who still identify "deep down" with the culture we were born into, you don't only need rope and handholds to descend the Dark Mountain: you need the will to get you through the journey.
This is not a book to read quickly. Do it right and for the most part you will be reflecting on and writing about what you have just read. Each chapter ends with a set of questions that take into account the previous text, and which ask you to consider your feelings and physical situation - in effect, how ready are you? From a technical point of view, Sacred Demise could have been laid out in a manner that emphasises the importance of this self-reflection process better: perhaps a separate workbook, larger pages for journaling. But to give Carolyn her due, she does provide note space, and the book is, to all intents and purposes, self published (yes, I was rather surprised too).
One thing that Carolyn Baker does do very well is express complex and emotive ideas in an easy to understand way, far better - if I may be so bold - than some of the writers that she quotes from. She does have an occasional tendency to present ideas of faith as fact, for instance in quoting Eckhart Tolle, she states: "While it is true that we are more than our bodies", which is a fine topic for discussion, but not something that would be welcome on the table of many modern philosophers. There is also an element of parochialism in some of the text, as though the civilized world consists of America and nothing else - more of an irritant than a major flaw, being English myself, but nevertheless something that could alienate non-American readers.
But these are minor flaws in a superb book. Sacred Demise is little short of seminal; the start, perhaps, of a way of writing and speaking that is paramount at the end of the Age of Empire. There are far too many lucid and memorable moments to quote them all, but if I had to choose a passage that sums up what Sacred Demise means to me, it would be this, from the cathartic chapter, "Hospice as Holy Ground":
"Had civilization not spent the last five thousand years attempting to murder the indigenous self inherent in all humans, we would not have to be told, as native peoples and the more-than-human world do not, that most of the time, life on this planet is challenging, painful, scary, sad, and sometimes enraging. What our indigenous ancestors had and still have to sustain them through the dark times was ritual and community. Our work is to embrace and refine both instead of intractably clinging to a "positive attitude" in the face of out-of-control, incalculable abuse and devastation."
Had I read this at the beginning of the book, then I may have given up there and then, but the aim of Sacred Demise is not a quick grab-you-by-the-arms and haul you up into the safety of the tree canopy; instead, it is a journey, and a damn hard one at that if you are not prepared to open up and accept the fate of civilization. This means that this book is perhaps not the first thing you should read when approaching the subject of ecological collapse and your place in the future; on the other hand, if you don't read Sacred Demise then you had better be ready for the shock of your life when the collapse comes.
October 2, 2009
I knew this would be a difficult one. Thinking about the collapse of industrial civilization and the human die-off and what we will take with us feels like a big forbidden subject - but it's more a question of when than if. Baker mulls it over and has a vague plan about what prospective survivors could do - move out to the country and round up a posse of like-mindeds who are getting ready and learning skills for subsistence farming, artisanry and hours of group processing every day (she seems to think people will have time and patience for this kind of thing) The book is full of journaling excercises. We all have our blind spots when it comes to contemplating this topic. Do I want to be one of the ones watching everyone else die? Not so much. But at least I know I'm not one of the only freaks thinking about it.
March 29, 2013
I've been around the idea of collapse for about two years now. What this book did for me was help me realize that it is how I BE WITH what is happening is actually a more important core undercurrent to all I do to prepare FOR it. I have had to face my own mortality, the consequences to my children, and how to keep putting one foot in front of the other. While I liked the book for its common sense and easy read, I would have liked to have some creativity as to how people can meet such a challenging and dark subject with resilience, courage, a sense of positiveness, and action in the world that would at least lessen the impact. I guess you can find them other places. This book just helped remind me that it's how I choose to respond to what's already occurring that is one of the important things.
July 14, 2010
Worth reading. Food for thought. I didn't do all the exercises in it but they'd probably be good to do!
May 23, 2014
glad I read it
August 3, 2010
something tells me its a good time to read this
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews