The Living World

Next week I will be teaching Nature as the Foundation of Regenerative Design to the current Design Science Studio . This essay is a part of my own process of organizing my thoughts for this class, and sharing these ideas a bit more broadly, as I feel deeply that every single one of us can be practitioners of Regenerative Design within our own respective domains. I hope that this gives you a little...

If the last year taught Seth Kaufmann and I anything, it’s that we can trust and respect the intelligence of the people we are here to work with, to grow with, to shape the world with. That realization happened because of Substack, because of you all here showing up and engaging meaningfully and beautifully with the ideas we share here. We are so grateful. And it’s because of that, that I am stepp...

This week has been very healing for me. I am writing this from the daybed in my office, curled up under a blanket, with the light of dawn coming in green, filtered through the leaves of my garden. My office used to be my bedroom, back when my mother lived on this side of the duplex, when I moved home after college, when my dad moved back to florida from india when he was diagnosed with cancer, whe...

I don’t know how many ministers will tell you what they do, or say, or pray when they are approaching orgasm, but Seth and I are a different kind of clergy and we are down to share it all. There are two prayers we’ll say, from two different lineages close to our hearts. Two prayers, holding one vision of a healed world. One prayer is the opening lines of the Sh’ma, a foundational prayer in Judaism...

This isn’t a neatly tied-together essay. It’s more like a constellation, some thoughts I’m in the midst of grappling with, loosely organized, lit by recent experience, and stitched together by instinct more than structure. These are themes I’ve been living into lately: vision, voice, syntropy, awe. What core ideas underpin the toxic ideologies rotting our culture, and how can we transform that rot...

Today is an eclipse. The next two weeks mark what astrologers and skywatchers call an eclipse season, a window of time between a lunar and solar eclipse. It often turns out to be a quietly transformational stretch in many people’s lives, sometimes noticed only in retrospect. Today is also the 14th day of the month of Elul, a beautiful and powerful month in the Hebrew calendar of preparation for th...

The incredible response of resonance to my recent essay Villaging, Not Homesteading: We're Not Doing This Alone has made it clear: many of us long for a world of deeper interconnectedness and interdependence. We dream of shared resources, mutual care, and a sense of belonging that extends beyond the walls of our own homes. And yet, for so many of us, the simple act of stepping outside, walking ove...

We are all living in a degenerative culture. Today, waking up to the prospect of another Trump administration is, frankly, degenerating my will, my being, and my function right now. I want to be honest about that. I began writing this last week, and am returning to it now as an exercise in regenerating my will, being, and function in devotion to all that I love in this world. This culture degenera...

I’m writing this from bed, watching the patterns of sunlight filtered through the leaves outside my window. The way it dances across my headboard, the gentle shift of shadows. It’s only this way for a short time of the year, and I got to know it intimately in the tender weeks after giving birth to my son two years ago. There’s something about those early postpartum days that opens you up to the ra...

I am a child of the most biodiverse estuary in North America. Named for the Ais people, who lived interdependently with this river and lagoon ecosystem, Indian River County is nested within a bioregion for which hurricanes are a part of the pattern of life. The Ais people lived with these storms, and there is so much we don’t know about how they anticipated, adapted to, and moved through these pow...

For years I’ve been exploring how humanity’s obsession with perpetual growth mirrors the destructive nature of cancer. This exploration led me down a path of co-developing different theories of change, seeking ways to counteract this cancerous mindset. Along the way, I discovered that I’m in good company in this inquiry. Edward Abbey, the environmental philosopher and author, famously wrote, “Grow...

This is an essay I wrote originally on Valentines Day of 2019. I’ve recently been revisiting it for multiple reasons, including recent work I’ve been doing with Stephen Bau who I first connected with in 2020 because of this essay. It’s an honor to be spiraling back in time to this meditation. I welcome you to tune in and listen in a space and moment in which your body can be fully at ease and rest...

This essay is the beginning of an exploration. This is an invitation to others who feel a connection to both Bucky and Maharaji, or who have been influenced by their teachings. I’d love to hear from people who are living in this same space, who see the ways these legacies continue to shape the world today. Last week, on the anniversary of Neem Karoli Baba’s Mahasamadhi, something unexpected happen...

My journey into the regenerative paradigm began in relationship. It started as a curious, gentle thought experiment with my partner at the time, Orion Morton. He was an environmental science student studying restoration ecology, while I was benefitting from deep mentorship with Dr. Mara Schiff a restorative justice scholar, practitioner, speaker, and advocate. Orion and I were both passionate abou...

Note: This is an original piece of writing by me, Ganga Devi Braun . However, it would not have come to life without the thought partnership of my husband, Seth Kaufmann , who has developed brilliant frameworks for dynamic masculinity from a trauma-informed, multidimensional perspective. His insights have opened my eyes to the immense compassion and potential within men and men’s work, and because...

Regenerative practice requires that we approach everything from a perspective of potential, rather than problem-solving. This subtle shift changes everything. This episode is an excerpt from a private podcast feed hosted exclusively within The Vision Society , a mastermind and incubation community for spirit-led founders building vision amidst global polycrisis. In this series, Ganga Devi and Dajé...

Note: This was originally published on Medium, Dec 17, 2018. This core phrase has been resounding in my mind recently again, so I thought I’d revisit this piece and I’m so glad I did. “This is a new life, and I am not afraid.” Walking along the dirt road path between my home and the temples of Kashi Ashram, the community in which I was raised, the steady rhythm of my footsteps gave rise to this se...

This episode explores the transformative power of leaving and returning home. Reflecting on recent travels to New Mexico, professional partnerships, challenges of motherhood, and the profound learning of regenerative culture, Ganga Devi delves into themes of migration, systemic change, and personal growth. Discover how life's redirections can lead to deeper self-connection and creative fulfillment...

This episode navigates the complexities of our emotional and practical relationships with money. Weaving connections between water and currency to dig deep into the essence of money flow and the dynamics of wealth in our lives, the discussion revolves around how money, like water, is life-sustaining and flows throughout society, impacting growth and enabling choice. Ganga Devi introduces listeners...

Episode Summary: In this episode of Living World with Ganga Devi Braun , we explore the pervasive beauty of the sun and its parallels with the concept of God. Kicking off with Mary Oliver's poignant poem "The Sun," the conversation opens up to discuss the cosmic and spiritual significance of the sun, as well as its foundational role in life on Earth. This episode interweaves this celestial appreci...

In this episode of "The Living World with Ganga Devi Braun," Ganga explores the process of personal change and transformation, drawing parallels to the molting metamorphosis of insects. She discusses the two types of metamorphosis that insects undergo and emphasizes the importance of recognizing and embracing the more subtle, gradual changes in our own lives. Ganga shares her own experiences of gr...

Resources: * Resources for Pleasure : A self-guided mini-course created by Ganga Devi Braun and Seth Kaufman exploring sexual education, nervous system involvement in arousal, and guidance on touch. * Sex, God, and Money Course : Join us in this 12-week, trauma informed journey through the sexual, spiritual, and financial dimensions of your life. * Seth Kaufmann : Seth integrates his expertise in...

This episode is an invitation to dive into the dynamic and transformative world of making authentic and accessible change. I explore the theory of change that I am working from, drawn from an extensive background in environmental and social activism, spiritual study, and my experience deeply supporting changemakers in moving from burnout to vitality. I draw wisdom here from the example of ecosyste...

Hi friends, it’s been a while since I’ve brought my voice into Substack. I’ve been in deep processes of creation and becoming, and life with a toddler has made the deep focus of writing hard. But I have been able to experiment, in quiet mornings and the depth of the night, with podcasting. This is my first episode, and I would love to hear your thoughts. Much more to come. Key Takeaways: * Lichen...

Join Ganga Devi Braun on "The Living World" podcast as she explores the wisdom of lichen symbiosis and its lessons for collaboration and partnership. Discover how lichen, a composite organism formed by the symbiotic relationship between fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria, thrives in extreme environments and transforms its surroundings. Ganga Devi shares her own journey of collaboration with h...