In this article for the Kosmos Journal, Drew Dellinger explores how changing our worldview and story can transform society. It highlights the work of Thomas Berry, who argued that the ecological crisis stems from the limitations of our dominant cultural story.

Berry believed a new cosmological story drawing on modern science could provide a sacred origin story to counter the Western worldview that sees humans as separate from and superior to nature. The article connects this idea to social justice movements like Black Lives Matter and Standing Rock, which challenge racist and extractive worldviews with alternative cosmologies of interconnectedness. Dellinger suggests that the “New Story” emerging today will be a diverse chorus of voices bending toward justice and ecology, exposing lies of systemic oppression and building movements for change.

Editor’s Note: The power of the story speaks about the power of our beliefs and collective consciousness in shaping reality [read Dr. Joe Dispenza: Change Your Reality, Feel It Until You Manifest It, How the state of consciousness can change our material reality and How we shape what we call reality]. The materialists know this to be true [Yuval Noah Harari even wrote a book exploring the power of what he calls “myth-making”; see Sapiens].

Our current reality reflects our consciousness, and if you are paying attention, it is becoming clear that a shift in consciousness is necessary if we want to sustain our existence here on Earth. Here, we see that the Story has its limitations. The Story cannot create or recreate itself. If we write a New Story, we must first gain the capacity to transform ourselves and our collective consciousness. The reverse may happen: A shift in collective consciousness must accompany a parallel change in individual consciousness to have true societal transformation.

The example of the Black Lives Matter movement illustrates this point – their advocacy was enlightened. Still, some leaders succumbed to corruption, as often happens when people gain power without undergoing personal transformation [To understand this better, we encourage you to read The Lemniscate Process: Creating a New World by Being Fully Human].