What Now My Beloved? by Alternatives Contributing Editor Werner Brandt

In 2007, I wrote an article for Alternatives, “iPhone and the Dharma” in which I discussed the implications of technology on our ability to feel connected through direct experience with fellow human beings and the more-than-human world. By that I mean the ancient forests, blue herons, salmon, wild roses, and an infinity of other expressions of beauty and mystery offered by the natural world. Now, just four years later, as technological advancements continue to impact every aspect of our daily lives through smarter phones, iPads, Facebook, and Twitter, to mention a few, we have gained a deeper understanding of the physical world and the universe. But, as Thomas Berry so eloquently expressed, “In the process we have become autistic. We have lost our capacity for communication with the natural world in its inner life, its spirit mode. We find ourselves illiterate as regards the languages of the natural world.”

In my contributions to Alternatives, I have sought those who followed the deeper longing of their soul and risked offering their unique gift to the world. I think of unembedded journalist Dahr Jamail who reports on the horrors of war in Iraq, and the growing GI resistance movement. Bill Plotkin, depth psychologist, wilderness guide and founder of Animas Valley Institute, who invites us, if we dare, to enter into our own underworld journey of the psyche through truth-telling council and wilderness fasts. Scott Eberle, hospice director and wilderness guide, who invites us into the dying process in order to live an authentic life. Stephen Gallegos who takes us into the world of deep imagery, beyond our fear of what we might discover. Doug Beasley who shows us how we may discover the beauty of our own spirit through the lens of a camera. Dr. Gabor Maté whose work with addicts reveals their pain rooted in childhood trauma and the addicts’ need to be treated with compassion rather than punishment.

My work with Alternatives has allowed me to explore my own inner world through interviews with these extraordinary individuals, develop my own authentic voice, and explore what it means to be a member of the earth community as we emerge into the Ecozoic Period—a time marked by the end of Industrial Age Society and recognition that we are part of a larger community in which all forms of life have value.

We are at a unique historical moment where our social lives reflect the paradox of intense connection via a plethora of social networking and the techno tools of texting. Yet because we have so much less actual human contact, we feel immensely isolated. We have supplanted direct experience with the high adrenaline rush of an entertainment industry amped up with violence and sex to maximize sensory experience, leaving us mentally exhilarated or exhausted—yet the primordial need for the actual body to be in motion is absent. Studies show that when the body is exposed to stress with no physical release, the stress manifests itself within the body memory.

Thus do we lose direct connection and love for the natural world. And the loss of the world as a lover makes it easier to exploit her resources, thus endangering ourselves and other species.

But at the same time there are millions of concerned humans paying attention to the pain in the world and dedicating their lives to the healing of the earth.

This is part of the message I see as a vital gap that Alternatives Magazine has filled, a gap mainly ignored by the dominant culture. And now Alternatives is at its own crossroads. The dying of one form and the possibility of midwifing a new form to permeate what, 75 years ago, Jesuit mystic Teilhard de Chardin referred to as a “vast thinking membrane, encircling the entire world, which would one day contain all our thoughts, our dreams, and our experiences.” So I invite you to preview the next incarnation of Alternatives Magazine: ALTERNATIVESZINE.COM

Werner Brandt is owner of Netforest, a computer consulting firm based in Salem, Oregon. He is a Techno-shaman, contributing editor to Alternatives Magazine, husband, father of five, amateur photographer, and meditator. He can be found many days wandering the deer trails of Minto-Brown park with Tika, his dog companion and teacher, communing with the more-than-human world. He has interviewed Ram Dass, Bill Plotkin, Stephen Gallegos, Scott Eberle and others, all of which can be found on the Alternatives Magazine website.