active hope Archives - Seeding Our Future

Book Review: Active Hope by Macy and Johnstone

August 12, 2025November 29, 2020 by Alan Heeks

An excellent guide to personal resilience I have taken part in workshops led by both Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, and regard them as two of the best teachers on personal resilience in a full sense of I have taken part in workshops led by both Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, and regard them as … Read more

Current Events

Inner strength for stormy times: how soul resilience helps | November 25

Wednesday, November 25 7.00 – 8.00pm UK time: free webinar with Alan Heeks This interactive workshop will help you explore what soul resilience could mean for you: what your spirit or higher self wants for you, how to find some steadiness and clarity amid the climate crisis and digital overwhelm, and ways to nourish your inner self. Alan has been exploring this issue for 30 years, and the webinar draws on his forthcoming book: Soul Resilience: inner strength for climate anxiety and digital overwhelm. Free, but advance booking essential. Group size limited to 24 people. To apply for your free place, follow this link.

Light in the Darkness | November 13–15

A men’s peer group in the Welsh hills 13–15 November 2026 | Trwyn Tal, Llanthony Valley, Wales This weekend is a chance to find your light and nourish it, in the face of the darkening season and the worries of the world. We will draw support from the fellowship of the group and the magical landscapes of the Llanthony Valley. This will be a peer group for a maximum of six men, enabled by Alan Heeks and Mark Smalley. The weekend may include group processes, walking, meditation, solo time and enjoying each other’s company over shared meals. We hope to gather younger and older men so that we can share insights and support across generations. Our venue: Trwyn Tal in the Llanthony Valley, Wales Accommodation: £190 for men aged over 35 or on a higher income; £90 for men under 35 or on a low income. Food purchases and cooking will be shared. Travel: Pick-up may be available from Bristol, Abergavenny or Hay-on-Wye. For more information or to book, contact Mark Smalley: or 07764 335 688 DOWNLOAD FULL DETAILS

A Sufi Garden – Monthly Online Group

Wednesday, November 4, 2026 7.30 – 9pm: free online event The Sufi Garden is a life-affirming evening of meditation, body prayer and poems, led by Alan Heeks and Karim Hadden. No previous experience needed. Information on our theme for November 4 will appear here soon. For more information and registration, see here.

Featured Blog

A skimpy guide to Thrutopian fiction

I’ve only just discovered Thrutopia, so this blog highlights the books I’ve read which broadly fit this category. In fact, the term Thrutopian was coined recently, by Rupert Read of the Climate Majority Project, to denote books which explore how humanity might get through the climate crisis. Here are my tips: The Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson. Often seen as the definitive example of the genre. It’s a plausible illustration of how positive progress could evolve from difficult sources, such as major climate disasters. Very illuminating: see my dedicated blog on it. 4.5/5 A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers. Subtitled A Monk and Robot Book, this is a delightful story, set in a fairly benign, post-apocalyptic land where the robots have decided to withdraw from human society, and live entirely apart. Our human hero meets a robot by chance, and they form a friendship. It’s really thought-provoking about how humans and ’empathic’ robots can relate. 4/5 The Ecotechnic Future, by John Michael Greer. Whilst this is non-fiction, it fits the Thrutopian genre as a convincing picture of how humanity may face decades of chaos before emerging into a tolerable future, and it has good, practical pointers of what we could do now to lay foundations for such a future. See my blog here. 4/5 Hum, by Helen Phillips. It’s debatable if this is a Thrutopian novel: there are definite dystopian aspects, but alongside hopeful ones. Hum won the 2026 Climate Fiction Award, and its anticipation of how AI may invade our lives is very perceptive, including:Bunnies: every child has an AI wristband, enabling constant monitoring, by parents and big business. The bunny can deliver therapy if the child is upset, and other products…Hums: these are quasi-human robots, who have displaced actual humans in many jobs. They are funded by big business, and their apparently friendly ‘conversations’ with humans have sales messages too. Wooms: every home has an egg-shaped capsule, and you climb into it to receive comfort and relaxation. But every 8 minutes there’s a commercial break. 3.5/5 Orbital, by Samantha Harvey. Set on an orbiting space station, this book offers us a novel view of how our planet, with its beauties, pollution, and complexities, looks when seen as a whole from outer space. 3/5 Habitat Man by D A Baden. I read this because my AI told me it’s a top-rated Thrutopian novel. It differs from many, as it’s not about a fictional future, but a slightly better version of current-day Britain. Our hero brightens people’s lives and helps the ecology by creating wildlife-friendly gardens. I found it okay, but slow-moving and self-important. 3/5