Page 16 - 201012 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Decemmber 2010

Backcasting Into the Future Backcasting Into the Future Matthew Stein Author of When Technology Fails It used to be that as the New Year approached and people reminisced about the passing of the old one, they would optimistically look forward to the coming year, degrading but are recovering towards their * A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative. anticipating that it would be fertile with native state of vibrancy, abundance and health. opportunities for advancement, growth, In my vision, we have halted population growth, * Practice safe eating - always use condiments. expansion, and ever increasing prosperity. For the unsustainable fishing of the oceans, the many, our former optimism has been replaced destruction of the world's forests and * Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death. by trepidation. The combined weight of the ecosystems, and have weaned ourselves from global financial meltdown, a changing climate, dependence upon fossil fuels. Many would * I used to work in a blanket factory, but it the constant threat of terrorism, the recent argue that this is an impossible dream, but I folded. plateau and impending decline in world oil would argue that it is not an impossible dream production, and a steadily increasing population but an imperative dream, and this is where the * If electricity comes from electrons... does that ever harder to keep fed and employed, has beauty and power of backcasting comes in. mean that morality comes from morons? settled upon our collective consciousness like a With backcasting, you start from the thick fog, blocking visions of a rosy future that vision of that which you wish to create, and * Marriage is the mourning after the knot most of once enjoyed. work backwards. You step "back from the before. It was Einstein who defined insanity as future", one step at a time, watching in your “doing the same thing over and over again and mind's eye how this beautiful fecund future was * A hangover is the wrath of grapes. expecting different results”. He also said, “The created, step by step, until you arrive at the significant problems we have cannot be solved present moment. Let your imagination run wild, * Corduroy pillows are making headlines. at the same level of thinking with which we and do not allow your vision to be limited by created them.” Essentially this means the same that nagging negative voice in the back of your * Sea captains don't like crew cuts. behavior and ways of thinking that got the mind telling you "this can't be done." world into its current mess will most certainly You will be surprised by this exercise! * Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? not get us out of it. It we are to avoid the Some actions, which you may currently believe collapse of our civilization along with the preposterous or "un-dreamed of," will be "seen" * A successful diet is the triumph of mind over natural systems of our planet, it will require a while backcasting as not only logical, but platter. new paradigm—a new level of thinking and absolutely necessary steps along the path of vision that goes far beyond the limits of the old global transformation. Collectively the peoples * A gossip is someone with a great sense of ways that got us here in the first place. The of this world got us into this mess, and there is rumor. problem is that most of us stay stuck in the same no time better than the present for the peoples of old ways of thinking as we project the past into the world to start shifting gears away from our * Without geometry, life is pointless. the future, seeing the future in terms of prior current apocalyptic course and onto a new one trends, tools, and techniques. pointed towards transformation and * When you dream in color, it's a pigment of There is a powerful new tool that we can renaissance. your imagination. each use to help remove the "blinders" of the We can do this! It is time to "backcast" old ways that got here in the first place, and this our way into a bright and beautiful future! * Reading whilst sunbathing makes you well- tool is called "backcasting". We can each use red. this tool to discover and create the concrete Matthew Stein is the author of When actions and policies that will overcome today's Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, * When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I. [] seemingly insurmountable challenges, shifting Sustainability, and Surviving the Long our direction towards a vision of a wonderful Emergency from Chelsea Green. For more future that most of the world desperately craves. information, visit chelseagreen.com and Start the process of "backcasting" by imagining whentechfails.com.[] the future that you desire--regardless of whether or not you believe it is possible. I like to picture A GOOD PUN IS ITS a modern renaissance, where we have created a sustainable world in which all peoples have OWN REWORD access to clean water, clean air, abundant food, education, health care, and a life free of * Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with persecution and violence. A world in which the battery. natural systems of our planet are no longer