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The Ship of Industrial Civilization: The 6,000 Year Voyage and Imminent Demise

Jed Diamond, Ph.D. has been a health-care professional for more than 40 years. He is the author of 10 books, including MenAlive: Stop Killer Stress with Simple Energy Healing Tools, Surviving Male Menopause, and Mr. Mean: Saving Your Relationship from the Irritable Male Syndrome. I offer counseling to men, women, and couples in my office in California or by phone with people throughout the U.S. and around the world. To receive a Free E-book on Mens Health and a free subscription to my e-newsletter go to www.MenAlive.com. If you enjoy my articles, please subscribe. I write to everyone who joins my tribe of followers.

People dont seem to realize it that it is not like were on the Titanic and we have to avoid the iceberg. Weve already hit the iceberg. The water is rushing in down below. But some people just dont want to leave the dance floor; others dont want to give up on the buffet. But if we dont make the hard choices, nature will make them for us. Rob Watson, CEO and Chief Scientist of The EcoTech International Group, who Pulitizer-Prize winning author Tom Friedman calls one of the best environmental minds in America. The Vision of the Sinking Ship I touched my lips to the Earth and made a prayer for all my relations as I crawled into the dark embrace of the sweat lodge. It was the summer of 1995 and I was attending a mens conference outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. I was with a hundred or more men meeting over a long weekend. As part of the experience we were invited to be part of traditional Native American Sweat Lodge ceremony. I was a bit reluctant to enter since Ive had asthma most of my life and at times have difficulty breathing. Nevertheless, I joined with 12 other guys inside the improvised enclosure. We were told by the elder leading the experience that the Sweat Lodge was an ancient ceremony central to most Native American cultures and spiritual life and is an adaptation of the sweat bath common to many ethnic cultures found in North and South America, Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, and Africa. The Sweat Lodge is a place of spiritual

refuge and mental and physical healing, a place to get answers and guidance by asking spiritual entities, totem helpers, the Creator and Mother Earth for the needed wisdom and power. A traditional Sweat Lodge is a wickiup made up of slender witches of aspen, willow, or other supple saplings, lashed together with raw hide, grass, or root cordage, although in some areas the lodge was constructed of whatever materials were at hand, from a mud roofed pit house to a cedar bark and plank lodge. Our lodge was a dome shaped structure made of a skeleton of fastened branches covered by thick tarps. It measured 4 feet in height and 8 feet in diameter, large enough to accommodate 12 people. The entrance faced east, the direction of the rising sun. As we prepared to enter the lodge the leader smudged us with the smoke of burning sage wafting the smoke over us with an eagle feather. We then crawled into the lodge in a sun-wise (clockwise) direction, bowing in humility to Great Spirit and in close contact with Earth Mother, and took our place in the circle, sitting cross-legged upright against the wall of the lodge. When all were inside the sweat leader called upon the doorkeeper to drop the flap covering the lodge opening. The lodge became dark, I felt my heart pounding, and a momentary feeling of panic overcame me. I felt relieved when the lodge leader announced that all were free to leave the lodge at any time if they could not endure the heat. We were given instructions about how to get out in an expeditious, but respectful way. I hoped I could make it through the 4 rounds that that the leader said was the tradition, one for each of the directions. He then asked for a short, contemplative

silence. The flap was then raised, and the leader called upon the fire tender to bring in the heated stones from the sacred fire. Aglow with the luminance of the red hot stones, the ceremony began. The sweat leader called forth the spirit guides in prayer from the Four Directions. He then dipped water and poured it onto the hot stones in the pit, producing large amounts of steam. I breathed deeply and tried to relax. In between rounds the flap was opened to allow us to cool down. With each round the lodge became hotter as more stones were added and the experience became more intense. As it turned out, I was at the back of the lodge where it was the hottest. In the forth round it became so hot that many of the people crawled out. I was one of the few people left inside, but I didnt feel the heat. I was somehow transported to another time and another place. We are all on a huge ocean liner. It is the Ship of Civilization. Everything that we know and have ever known is on the ship. People are born and die. Goods and services are created, wars are fought, and elections are held. Species come into being and face extinction. The Ship steams on and on and there is no doubt that it will continue on its present course forever. There are many decks on the ship starting way down in the boiler room where the poorest and grimiest toil to keep the ship going. As you ascend the decks things get lighter and easier. The people who run the ship have suites on the very top deck. Their job, as they see it, is to keep the ship going and keep those on the lower decks in their proper places. Since they are at the top they are sure that they deserve to have the best that the ship has to offer.

Everyone on the lower decks aspires to get up to the next deck and hungers to get to the very top. That's the way it is. That's the way it has always been. Thats the way it will always be. However, there are a few people who realize that something very strange is happening. What they come to know is that the Ship of Civilization is sinking. At first, like everyone else, they cant believe it. The Ship has been afloat since time before time. It is the best of the best. That it could sink is unthinkable. Nonetheless, they are sure the Ship is sinking. They try and warn the people, but no one believes them. The Ship can not be sinking and anyone who thinks so must be out of their mind. When they persist in trying to warn the people of what they are facing, those in charge of the Ship silence them and lock them up. The Ship's media keeps grinding out news stories describing how wonderful the future will be. The Captains of the Ship smile and wave and promise prosperity for all. But water is beginning to seep in from below. The higher the water rises, the more frightened the people become and the more frantic they scramble to get to the upper decks. Some believe it is the end of the world and actually welcome the prospect of the destruction of life as we know it. They believe it is the fulfillment of religious prophesy. Others become more and more irritable, angry, and depressed and use alcohol, drugs, and other forms of self-medication to escape the pain. But as the water rises, those who have been issuing the warnings can no longer be silenced. More and more escape confinement and lead the people towards the lifeboats. Though there are boats enough for all, many people are reluctant to leave the

Ship of Civilization. Things may look bad now, but surely they will get better soon, they say to each other. Nevertheless, the Ship is sinking. Many people go over the side and are lowered down to the boats. As they descend they are puzzled to see lettering on the side of the ship, T-IT-A-N-I-C. When they reach the lifeboats many are frightened and look for someone who looks like they know what to do. Theyd like to ride with those people. However, they find that each person must get in their own boat and row away from the Ship in their own direction. If they dont get away from the Ship as soon as possible they will be pulled under with it. Though each person must row their own boat, they must stay connected to others. When everyone, each in their own boats, rowing in their own direction, reaches a certain spot, a new kind of network will emerge It will be the basis for a new way of life that will replace the life that was lived on the old Ship of Civilization. Since those in charge of the Ship of Civilization do not want to have people off the ship claiming a better way of life, they do their best to silence them. They do their best to discredit dissenters. Those who seem to be attracting too many followers are killed. It is clear that those who get off the Ship must communicate in ways that dont draw attention to themselves. I slowly came back to the present and found myself alone at the back of the Sweat Lodge. I wasnt quite sure what had happened, but the vision was clear in my mind and has remained so ever since. As a scientist I dont usually put much store in visions. Yet, over the years I have come to trust the intuitive glimpses into the future that many

people see. I still want to examine the facts before making decisions, but I dont discount my intuition. For the last 13 years I have been trying to understand what I had been given and how to best share it with others. Over the years Ive shared the vision with a number of friends and colleagues, though true to the vision I have been careful about attracting too many followers. But more and more people from all walks of life are having similar visions and its time to get the word out to everyone who is ready to hear it. The Ship of Civilization Wont Sink Today, Tomorrow, or Even Next Year, But It Will Go Down Sooner Than We Think Though, the Ship of Civilization is clearly a metaphor for our modern lifestyle and has some limitations, I believe it is a useful way to look at the world. However, it is important to recognize that this Ship has been afloat for 6,000 years. Unlike an actual ocean-liner that strikes and iceberg and can sink within hours, the Ship of Civilization is not likely to go under and disappear immediately. Our fears and fantasies may lead us to believe that the apocalypse is just around the corner. It leads some people to become panic stricken and anxious to do everything immediately in order to prevent an immanent crash which will destroy everything they hold dear. For others it leads to apathy and despair (or anticipation and joy for those who believe they will be uplifted to heaven after the apocalypse) as they expect the end to occur no matter what they might do to improve things. Even those who believe that our Civilization is coming to an end tell us that it wont happen over night. As anthropologist and historian Joseph Tainter points out in The Collapse of Complex Societies, collapse is an economizing strategy (usually not

deliberate) necessitated by serious and prolonged energy deficits. It took us 6,000 years to get to where we are now and about 150 years to develop our addiction to oil. It will take awhile for the end to come, even if it happens relatively fast. In exploring the timescales of collapse, Tainter notes that it took 300 years for the Minoan civilization to fall, 163 years for the Roman Empire to crash, and 150 years for the Mayan civilization to come to an end. In studying Tainters data, John Michael Greer, author of The Long Descent, concludes that gradual disintegration, not sudden catastrophic collapse, is the way civilizations end. Thats good news, since it gives us time to make the transition off the Ship and into a new way of life. But we should not be complacent. We do live in a world where everything is speeding up. Things may get dicey a lot sooner than we think. I dont think the Ship of Civilization is going to sink immediately, I do feel that we are facing unprecedented challenges and we shouldnt use past histories of collapse to give us a false sense of security. Over the next 5 years, there will be times youll feel that things are coming apart and youll be sure the end is near. Then youll receive reassurances that things are improving. Everythings OK now. Youll want to see signs of recovery. Youll want to believe that the crisis has been averted. Youll want to pretend that another crisis isnt on its way. At these times youll be tempted to stay on board the Ship. Remember: All abusive relationship, whether with a domestic partner or with Civilization itself, follow a similar cycle:

* Abuse occurs * The abuser feels guilty and promises never to do it again. * Excuses follow. It wasnt my fault. You brought it on yourself. I hear these kinds of excuses with our current financial collapse. The bankers abuse us by stealing our money, then tell us its our fault because we fell for their promises. . They tell us it is our duty to bail them out because we couldnt survive without them. * We are lulled into believing that everything is normal, that we should come back home, reinvest our resources and trust that we will be treated with kindness and respect in the future. * The abuser fears that he may be losing the respect of his partner and fantasizes ways to boost his fragile ego. * He once again creates situations that are inherently unworkable, like an abusive husband who loves his wife so much he controls her every move. Things are set up for another round of abuse.

No one can convince someone else they are in an abusive relationship, and need to get out, until they are ready. This book is for everyone, whether you are ready to get out of your abusive relationship now or will wait until later. When youre ready, this book will give you the support you need to survive and thrive outside the abuses of Civilization. Abandon Ship or Stay on Board: Making The Decision of Our Lives I have been a psychotherapist for 44 years now. Helping people effectively heal themselves and their relationships requires scientific skills as well as vision and intuition. In the vision of the sinking ship, I got a very clear, intuitive sense of what was happening to us and what we needed to do about it. Over the years since 1995, the scientific basis for the vision is becoming increasingly clear. Yet, as disruptive as a crash may be, it might not be all bad. Many people believe that our current way of life is unsustainable. We cannot continue consuming the Earths resources as we have been. A crisis might give us the shock we need to move in a new direction. If the events that are materializing are as substantial as they appear, says futurist John L. Petersen, author of A Vision for 2012: Planning f or Extraordinary Change, then this shift is going to be very big and deep. Peterson describes a likely scenario where Some extraordinary catalytic event or series of events shakes things up so much, so fast, that upon recovery we all rapidly decide we must live quite differently. The catalytic event may be something bad like the financial meltdown, another useless war, or sky high food prices due to increasing drought conditions in India and China. It may also be something good like the emerging economic

localization movement, the joy of growing your own food, or learning to find common ground with people you used to see as enemies. For some just having the image of the sinking ship is enough to get them over the side and into the lifeboats. Others want to know why the ship is sinking before they will believe that their lives are in danger. I believe that what I call the Ship of Civilization is inherently unsustainable and we must get off it and begin living in a new way if humans are going to survive on the planet. Since I believe that a picture is worth a thousand words or maybe even 10,000 words, Id like to give you four pictures that I hope will so stick in your mind and help you decide whether you want to stay on board or get off the Ship. The first picture comes from author and social visionary Daniel Quinn, author of the book Ishmael and Beyond Civilization: Humanitys Next Great Adventure. Quinn suggests that our Ship of Civilization was built on principles that are unsustainable and hence inherently destructive, yet we are in denial about our present reality. He likens our attempt to build a culture, while rejecting time-tested laws of nature, to mans early attempts at flight. Lets suppose, he says, that this trial is being made in one of those wonderful pedal-driven contraptions with flapping wings, based on a mistaken understanding of avian flight. As the flight begins, all is well. Our would-be airman has been pushed off the edge of the cliff and is pedaling away, and the wings of his craft are flapping like crazy. He feels wonderful, ecstatic. Hes experiencing the freedom of the air. What he doesnt realize, however, is that this craft is aerodynamically incapable of flight. It simply isnt in compliance with the laws that make flight possiblebut he would laugh it you told him

this. Hes never heard of such laws, knows nothing about them. He would point to those flapping wings and say, See? Just like a bird! Nevertheless, whatever he thinks, hes not in flight. Hes an unsupported object falling toward the center of the earth. Hes not in flight, hes in free fall. If you violate the laws of that make flight possible you will surely crash. If you violate the laws of nature, you will crash just as surely. Get the picture? Heres another one from Quinn. Were like the man in the joke who thinks he can fly by jumping from the 102nd floor of the Empire State building. As he hurls past the tenth floor, he is heard to sing out, Well, so far so good! We wont be saved by telling ourselves that everything is fine because we havent crashed yet. Get the picture? Heres one of my own, specially drawn for my male readers. Picture a man who enjoys making love to his wife. They have one lovely child and are hoping for another. For most of human history men understood, though they may not have been able to articulate it, that erections require just the right amount of blood going into the penis and coming out of the penis. But this civilized guy believes that if a little is good, more will be even better. Boy, this feels wonderful. I feel so strong, potent, and powerful with this engorged penis, I think Id like a little more blood coming in. Like the man jumping off the Empire State building, he feels great, just before his penis explodes. Get the picture? Heres another, specially conceived for my women readers. You are pregnant with your second child. For most of human history the fetus understood that life depended on a dynamic balance between the mother and child. Prior to birth the fetus and the mother share the same blood supply. If the mother takes too many nutrients from the fetus, the

child will die. If the child takes too many nutrients, the mother will die. Imagine a child who says to herself, Girl, this feels so good. Im getting lots of good nutrition and I feel that Im getting bigger and stronger every day. I think Id like just a bit more. She feels great, just before she takes a little too much from the mother. Mom dies and soon thereafter, she dies too. Get the picture? We cant have a society built on human desires that are not in tune with natures laws. We cant take more from life than we give. Were happiest when we feel at one with ourselves, each other, and the natural world. This is the way weve lived through most of human history. When were out of synch with the world, we all suffer, even those who appear to be benefiting from being on the top decks of the Ship of Civilization. Male Depression and Suicide: Even the Captains Are Abandoning Ship As a psychotherapist I work with men and women every day helping them to deal more effectively with their emotional pain. For more than four decades I have specialized in helping men and the women who love them. We might assume that the Captains of Civilization would be the happiest people on the planet since they are reaping the benefits of being top dog. However, that is not the case. In fact, the highest suicide rate in the United States (and other industrial civilizations) is occurring among mid-life and older men, the very men who are receiving the greatest benefits of civilized life. Here are the statistics for the suicide rates per 100,000 by Age and Gender: Age range 40-49 50-59 Men 25.1 25.5 Women 7.0 6.8 Male/Female ratio 3.6 3.7

60-69 70-79 80-89

27.5 40.7 68.5

5.7 5.0 5.0

4.8 8.1 13.7

We see a steady increase in the suicide rate among mid-life and older men, while we see a steady decrease for women. The suicide rate for men in their 40s is 3.6 times higher than it is for women in their 40s. The increase continues throughout mens life until we see that men in their 80s men have a suicide rate 13.7 times higher than for women of the same age. Dmitry Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects recognizes the different effects collapse will have on men versus women. When times get really bad, as they did when the Soviet Union collapsed, lots of people just completely lose it; Men, especially. Successful, middle-aged men, breadwinners, bastions of society, turn out to be especially vulnerable. Orlov goes on to say, Women seem much more able to cope. Perhaps it is because they have less of their ego invested in the whole dubious enterprise, or perhaps their sense of personal responsibility is tied to those around them and not some nebulous grand enterprise. In any case, the women always seem far more able to just put on their gardening gloves and go do something useful, while the men tend to sit around groaning about the Empire, or the Republic, or whatever it is that they lost. And when they do that, they become very tedious company. And so, without a bit of mental preparation, the men are all liable to end up very lonely and very drunk. (Emphasis mine) Clearly those on the upper-most decks of the Ship, the very Captains of Civilization, are suffering under the weight of their position. Author, Herb Goldberg, described the

situation clearly in this book, The Hazards of Being Male. The male has paid a heavy price for his masculine privilege and power. He is out of touch with his emotions and his body. He is playing by the rules of the male game plan and with lemming-like purpose he is destroying himselfemotionally, psychologically, and physically. To understand what is happening we need to delve more deeply into our past. Civilization: The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race In order to take effective action, we have to become aware of the underlying story that we have been telling ourselves for many thousands of years. It is said that fish have no understanding of the water within which they live. It is just there and they are a part of it. In the same way, humans have little awareness of the story of civilization. We believe it has always been there and will always be there. We have a vague notion that there were people who lived before civilization. We call them uncivilized, primitives or savages. In his famous book Leviathan written in 1651, English Philosopher, Thomas Hobbes described his view of our primitive ancestors, which many believe to this day (which is the justification used to take Native lands, since they arent doing anything with it): In such condition, there is no place for Industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain; and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by Sea; no commodious Building; no Instruments of moving, and removing such things as require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

In contrast, those who are in charge of the Ship of Civilization see their way of life as being much more desirable. The Oxford English Dictionary offers a simple, straight forward definition of civilization. Civilized condition or state; a developed or advanced state of human society. The American Heritage Dictionary articulates it a bit more fully: An advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and material development in human society, marked by progress in the arts and sciences, the extensive use of writing, and the appearance of complex political and social institutions. If we were to tell the story of human life on planet Earth from the perspective of those who run the Ship of Civilization it might go something like this: Primitive humans evolved from ape-like creatures 3 million years ago. They didnt have the time or inclination to develop much in the way of culture. They were too busy fighting each other and killing wild animals. Their life was, indeed, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Their chapter of human history ended about ten thousand years ago (thank God) with the birth of agriculture in the Near East. It took a while for humans to get the hang of this new technology, but by 6,000 years ago it was in full swing. It was such a wonderful way of life and brought so many advantages to the people who practiced it that it spread throughout the world. Though it hasnt quite solved all the problems on the planet, with the advent of modern technology and the spread of Western Civilization, we are well on our way to achieving the golden age of humanity. Although it is more difficult to recognize and accept the downside of Civilization, there are a number of scientists who have been able to do so. Jared Diamond is a professor of physiology at the U.C.L.A. School of Medicine. He has become world famous as the author of best-selling books, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human

Societies and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. But before he became well known, back in 1987, he challenged the orthodoxy surrounding our civilized way of life, by not only questioning its value, but calling it the worst mistake in the history of the human race. To science we owe dramatic changes in our smug self-image. Astronomy taught us that our earth isnt the center of the universe but merely one of billions of heavenly bodies. From biology we learned that we werent specially created by God but evolved along with millions of other species. Now archaeology is demolishing another sacred belief: that human history over the past million years has been a long tale of progress. In particular, recent discoveries suggest that the adoption of agriculture, supposedly our most decisive step toward a better life, was in many ways a catastrophe from which we have never recovered. With agriculture came the gross social and sexual inequality, the disease and despotism, that curse our existence. My friend, and fellow psychotherapist, Chellis Glendinning, was the first to articulate the reality that Civilization was like a deadly drug and humans had become addicted to it. In her wonderfully insightful book, My Name is Chellis & Im in Recovery From Western Civilization, she says, You and I are not people who live in communion with the Earth, and yet we are people who evolved over the course of millions of yearsthrough savannah, jungle, and woodlandto live in communion with it. We exist instead dislocated from our roots by the psychological, philosophical, and technological constructions of our civilization, and this alienation leads to our suffering: massive suffering for each and every one of us, and mass suffering throughout our society.

The Origin of Warfare, Social Violence, Child Abuse, and Sexual Repression: The Top Secret Work of James DeMeo James DeMeo, only half-jokingly, says his work is top secret because so few people know about it; which is surprising since he has been sharing it at professional and community-wide conferences and in popular and professional journals since 1980. His research is meticulous, well-grounded, and deals with some of the most important questions of our times including the following: 1. What are the causes and ultimate sources of human violence and war? 2. Why, if everyone talks about world peace and loving thy neighbor, is there so much hatred and killing around the world? 3. What specifically happened to change the world so dramatically that its become increasingly violent and unsustainable? He thoroughly answers these and many more questions in his 1998 blockbuster book, Saharasia: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence in the Deserts of the Old World. Youd expect this book to be an international best-seller and the research to be reported by major news outlets around the globe. Have you heard of James DeMeo? Have you read about Saharasia? Do you know why the

Middle East continues to be a center of conflict in the world? If youre like most of us, your answer is no, no, and no! Two reasons for this lack of recognition come to mind. The first is that the research is poorly done and the results are of little importance. The second is that DeMeos work

threatens the powers that be. When you learn more, I suspect youll agree that the second possibility is most likely. What comes to mind when you think about the Sahara desert? For most its an image of dry sand and more dry sand, stretching out for miles. But few really know exactly where it is and the critical role it has played, and continues to play, in human history. Actually the Sahara desert is just one part of a huge expanse of arid lands which DeMeo calls Saharasia, encompassing North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. It is the largest single contiguous land region of generally similar climate on the face of the Earth. Like a great planetary wound where rainfall is scanty, temperatures generally high, and vegetation relatively scarce or nonexistent, says DeMeo, this belt of aridity stretches from Port Etienne on the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa eastward almost to Bejing, China, near the Pacific. How much land are we talking about? Think 1,000 miles wide and 8,000 miles long. Take a look at the following map created by DeMeo. You can see the huge expanse of the black (extremely dry) and grey (slightly less dry) spreading across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, the area DeMeo calls Saharasia. There are other desert lands in the world, but nothing that compares to this.

Figure 1.

Its difficult to imagine, but this area was not always a desert. Evidence from dozens of archaeological and paleoclimatic studies indicates that the great desert belt of modern day Saharasia was, prior to 6,000 years ago, a semiforested grassland savanna. According to DeMeo, Large and small fauna, such as elephant, giraffe, rhino, and gazelle, lived on the highland grasses, while hippopotamus, crocodile, fish, snails, and mollusks thrived in streams, rivers and lakes. Today, most of this same North African, Middle-Eastern and Central Asian terrain is hyperarid and often vegetation-barren. Some of the now-dry basins of Saharasia were then filled with water tens to hundreds of meters deep, while the canyons and wadis flowed with permanent streams and rivers.

What were the people like who lived for thousands of years in this lush environment? According to DeMeo they were peaceful, unarmored, and respectful of women and children. In fact, there is ample evidence that people throughout the world were living in the same way, until about 6,000 years ago. Remember, the transition from our hunting and gathering way of life to agriculture and animal husbandry began 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. There is ample evidence to support the fact that it wasnt the development of agriculture that was the biggest mistake in the history of the human race, as Jared Diamond suggested, but the coming of the great desert in Saharasia and the resultant desert of the mind. The spread of mind-damaged Civilization, beginning 6,000 years ago, is what is harming the planet and the people of the planet. Deserts on the Planet, Deserts of the Mind, and the Trauma of Civilization Interestingly the concept of the emotional desert was first articulated by maverick psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich in his later years while doing atmospheric research in Arizona in 1954. As reported by DeMeo, who is helping educate Americans about Reichs important work, Reich understood that deserts suck dry the juiciness of plant and animal life, which developed a thick and prickly outer covering against the hostile environment. This was similar, Reich argued, to the way harsh and traumatic methods of infant and child treatment, and antisexual attitudes dry up the softer emotional aspects of life, giving rise to a particularly arid, dry, and/or prickly character structure. As Reich describes desert plants The whole plant is covered with bristles, reminding us, in analogy, of the prickly outer behavior of human beings who are empty and desertlike inside. This is not mere analogy, however. DeMeo has shown that the deserts of

Saharasia have shaped the human mind, our sense of self, how we relate to women and children, and how we make war on the world. What we call Civilization was born in trauma. Its critical that we understand that healing from trauma is the key to disengaging ourselves from the Ship of Civilization. DeMeo helps us understand how this destructive pattern began. He believes that climate change and the drying out of the lands of Saharasia was the environmental trauma that started us on the road to sexual repression, child abuse, interpersonal violence, environmental destruction, and continual warfare that have so much a part of life in the past 6,000 years. We can feel how this may have occurred by imagining our lives had we lived back then. Think about being a mother who has been living with little food or water for years because conditions are so dry. Think about how the bonds between husband and wife, parent and child, are weakened when people are scared and hungry. Think about the fear, anger, and competition between men to get some bit of life-enhancing land. Think about the fights over water, food, and shelter. Think about being a child growing up in a harsh environment where parents are starving and cant take care of you. If you do survive to adulthood think of the confusion, anger, and hopelessness you feel which is passed on to the next generation of children. Think about this pattern being repeated generation after generation. Remember in Chapter 1, I said that I had never seen an instance of repeated violence in a person who was not traumatized and abused during earlier stages of his life. This is true for nations as well as individuals. We are gradually breaking through our denial and

acknowledging the violence and abuse White Americans have inflicted on Native Americans, African Americans, Japanese Americans, and other minority groups. We have not yet recognized or acknowledged that the abuse that was inflicted on others could not have happened unless we, ourselves, had been abused in the past. Often those who have healed from their own trauma are able to recognize the trauma they see in others. This is true in the case of Native American activist, John Trudell. He speaks eloquently and with compassion to us all. At a Bioneers Conference in 2006 Trudell offered these powerful words of healing: What happened to us, to the Native Peoples on this hemisphere, happened to your tribes, all peoples. Youre descendants of tribes and it happened to your tribes, it just happened to your tribes before you got here. And then when you got here, you did to us what they had done to you. Trudell recognizes that we are all suffering the effects of trauma. When one culture or tribe is traumatized, they often pass on the abuse to another culture or tribe. But he also recognizes that healing can occur. We dont have to keep passing on the abuse in our personal relationships to our children who pass it on to their children. Neither do we have to pass on the trauma of empire to countries throughout the world. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Post Traumatic Growth Potential (PTGP) Most of us are familiar with the concept of post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. We know that when trauma occurs whether as a result of events such as war, rape, or natural disaster, the survivors experience symptoms that can recur over a long period of time. They may have flashbacks, anxiety attacks, angry outbursts, excessive vigilance, and relationship difficulties.

Over the years as a therapist I have worked with many people who have been suffering from PTSD. But Ive also witnessed another phenomenon which is not as widely reported. I find that growth occurs in many people as they find the courage to confront the trauma they have experienced, work through the feelings and wounding, and find a renewed strength and hope for the future. I describe it as post traumatic growth potential or PTGP. It doesnt occur with everyone who has undergone trauma and it certainly doesnt negate the pain and loss that people experience, but it reminds us of the tremendous potential we all have for healing and renewal. A man who had survived being beaten and raped as a child described it to me this way. Its been a long journey to recover from the wounds I experienced as a child. For years I blocked out all memory of the events. I didnt realize my crazy behavior and dysfunctional relationships were related to events I had totally blocked out. When I began to remember I thought Id go crazy. But over the years, with a lot of support, I have learned that healing was possible. I would never wish what happened to me on anyone and Im doing my best not to pass on the pain to my own children, but I also know that I am stronger now, more compassionate of others pain, and more willing to reach out to those in need. Richard G. Tedeschi, Ph.D. and Lawrence Calhoun, Ph.D., have been studying post traumatic growth for more than ten years. Based on their research they report that post traumatic growth have been found in people who have experienced bereavement, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV infection, cancer, bone marrow transplantation, heart attacks, coping with the medical problems of children, transportation accidents, house fires, sexual assault and sexual abuse, combat, refugee experiences, and being taken hostage.

They also describe a range of positive outcomes including improved relationships, new possibilities for one's life, a greater appreciation for life, a greater sense of personal strength and spiritual development. No one would choose to be abused or traumatized, but PTSD is not the only result. With help and support, the sinking of the Ship of Civilization can offer the opportunity for potential growth and positive transformation. In fact, it may lead us back to a way of life that is more healthy and sustainable than what many have experienced over the last 6,000 years. Patrist and Matrist, Dominator and Partnership: Contrasting Two Ways of Life Dr. James DeMeo contrasts two ways of life for human beings throughout our long history. Prior to the coming of the great desert 6,000 years ago humans lived relatively peacefully, treated their spouses and children with loving kindness, and lived in balance with nature. I say relatively because no human society is perfect. People had disagreements, fought, and occasionally killed each other. But this kind of destructive behavior was not wide-spread or built into the culture. DeMeo calls these cultures matrist. These are cultures, he says where child treatment and sexual relationships were gentle and pleasure oriented. They were also democratic, egalitarian, sex-positive, and show very low levels of adult violence. He says that these cultures were the rule through most of human history and contrasts them with patrist cultures that arose in the deserts of Saharasia and have spread from there around the world. He says patrist cultures tended to inflict pain and trauma upon infants and young children, punish young people for sexual expression, manipulate them into arranged marriages, subordinate the female, and otherwise greatly restrict the freedoms of young

people and older females to the iron will of males. They also tended to possess high levels of adult violence, with various social institutions designed for expression of pentup sadistic aggression. DeMeo says that After completing and publishing my research findings between 1980 and 1986, I subsequently learned about Riane Eislers work The Chalice and the Blade (Harper & Row, 1987), which argued for similar cultural transitions in Europe and the Mediterranean. Eislers dominator culture type holds many similarities to the armored patrist culture described here, while her partnership culture type is generally comparable with unarmored matrist culture. Since I first read The Chalice and the Blade shortly after it was released, I felt that Eisler offered a clear contrast between two ways of life. However, I always felt uneasy that she didnt detail the origin of the dominator cultures. She simply described their behavior as they rode in on horseback swinging their blades. DeMeo offers the missing piece of the puzzle, helping us understand what went wrong and what we need to do to heal. I believe that Eislers and DeMeos work are very compatible. I like the terms Dominator and Partnership, as opposed to matrist and patrist, but feel they are really different names for the same cultural practices. In his book, Saharasia, DeMeo contrasts the two cultures by examining a number of key factors. Ill summarize a number of them here:

Table 1. Dominator (Patrist) Infants & Children Less physical affection Genital mutilation Painful initiations Sex-segregated houses or military Sexuality Restrictive, anxious Adolescent lovemaking severely censored Concubinage/prostitution may flourish Permissive, pleasurable Adolescent lovemaking freely permitted Absence of concubinage or prostitution Partnership (Matrist) More physical affection No genital mutilation No painful initiations Mixed sex childrens houses or age villages

Women

Freedom limited Inferior status Cannot choose own mate Cannot divorce at will Males control fertility

Expanded freedom Equal status Can make choice Can divorce at will Females control fertility

Dominator (Patrist) Culture, Family, Social Structure Descent through fathers line Live with fathers family Authoritarian Hierarchical Wealth concentrated in hands of a few Violent, sadistic Religion Male/father oriented Pleasure avoiding Pain/punishing Fear and dominate nature Food Kept under lock and key

Partnership (Matrist)

Descent through mothers line Live with mothers family Democratic Egalitarian Wealth more equal

Peaceful, nurturing Female/mother oriented Pleasure seeking Joy/forgiving Trust and venerate nature Free and available to all

The Rise and Fall of the Dominator Cultures DeMeo convincingly demonstrates that the dominator cultures arose in two regions: the Arabian core region and the Central Asian core region. He also shows that people in those regions gradually changed from a way of life based on the values and practices of partnership to values and practices based on domination as summarized above. This resulted from environmental trauma due to the lack of water and gradual desertification

of the land. These traumatized cultures spread out from the Saharasian center and have conquered and influenced people throughout the world. When I looked on a modern atlas a number of present-day countries are at the center of the core regions of Saharasia. These include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Turkey, Israel, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. When we look at Table 1 above we can see that the values and behaviors of the Dominator culture are still quite prevalent in those countries including the following: Genital mutilation Restrictive and anxious sexuality More limited freedom for women Male dominated families Authoritarian practices Hierarchical social organization Male violence.

In fact, DeMeo shows that people who live closer to the core regions of Saharasia are more likely to exhibit qualities of a dominator culture. Those who live farther away, including people in North and South America, exhibit more qualities of partnership culture and fewer qualities of the dominator culture. In some circles, it isnt politically correct to suggest that American may be less of a dominator culture than countries such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, Egypt, or Pakistan. But the objective evidence would suggest that we are. However, it should be noted that all the present-day countries that are part of what was the dominator heartland are not equal in their espousal of dominator values. For instance, Israel was

settled relatively recently with people who came mostly from Europe. Even countries like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Pakistan differ in the degree to which they adhere to dominator values and practices. Every country, even those with a strong dominator ethic, have elements of partnership. And all peoples hunger to return to their partnership roots. In other quarters its not politically correct to suggest that the U.S. is one of the more violent countries on the planet. Even though the U.S. is farther away from the dominator heartland than most countries, we are not immune to having been influenced by dominator values. Lest we feel too superior to other countries, we must acknowledge our own dominator practices. For instance, the percentage of male babies who have their foreskin removed is much higher in the U.S. than in Europe and most parts of Asia. We also exhibit more violence than many other countries in the world and we have participated in more than our share of wars. DeMeo says, Today much of Europe and the Americas clearly deserve classification of intermediate to high on the dominator scale. DeMeos research suggests that the first dominator cultures came into being 6,000 years ago in the Saharasia. Since one of their chief characteristics was that they were war-like and violent, their practices have spread widely. Think about what it must have been like to have been living at that time. In order to survive the trauma of life in the desert, people became armored in body, mind, and spirit. We know that trauma leaves wounds that, if not healed, get passed on to future generations. Think what it must have been like to live on the periphery of these dominator cultures.

If youre a peaceful people, how do you defend yourself against an invading dominator army? You can remain peaceful and refuse to fight. As a result, you die and your culture dies with you. If you accommodate to the invaders, you are absorbed and become part of the dominator culture. You can withdraw and hope the dominator culture is satisfied with the lands they have conquered and leave you alone, but eventually they tend to expand their territory and you face the same dilemma. Fighting back is the final choice. You can match their violence with your violence. If you lose, you die.

But even if you win, you lose as well. Since in winning you become as much of a dominator as the attacker you were defending yourself against. I think we saw this in the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001. In the years we have been fighting the terrorists, we have become more violent, less peaceful, and have moved up the scale of dominator qualities and down the scale for partnership qualities. Andrew Bard Schmooker describes this dilemma in his book, The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution. The parable of the tribes is a theory of social evolution which shows that power is like a contaminant, a disease, which once introduced will gradually, yet inexorably become universal in the system of competing societies. Fighting fire with fire, may be a tempting approach to dealing with terrorist threats. However, in the long run it creates more problems than it solves. Hopefully we have learned that lesson and in electing Barack Obama to be our President, perhaps the country will find a way to be strong and peaceful. Well never win by using dominator values and practices to fight those who would dominate us. This is true whether the threat comes from outside our borders or from

dominators within. It seems clear to me that the fuel that runs our present dominator culture is oil. Its our last, best addictive drug. But the drug no longer delivers the benefits it once did. Its use is becoming more and more dangerous to the environment and its dwindling supply leads us to more intense turf battles to try and capture as much of the remaining oil as we can. It seems that the only way dominator cultures stop spreading is when they run out of gas. This seems to be the case. I believe The Ship of Civilization will soon become dead in the water. As it runs out of energy, it will begin to sink. Fortunately, there is a better alternative than going down with the Ship, which we will explore in the next chapter. Bottom Line Action Plan Write down one action you are willing to make based on what youve read in this chapter. Write your action here (or write it down in your own notebook):

Additional actions: 1. Its difficult to make changes in our relationships, even ones that are destructive. A recent study concluded that doctors can tell heart patients that they will literally die if they do not change their ways, and still only about one in seven will be able to make the changes. These are not people who want to die. They want to live out their lives, fulfill their dreams, watch their grandchildren grow upand, still, they cannot make the changes they need to in order to survive. Write down three reasons you want to get off the sinking Ship of Civilization.

Write down three things that keep you onboard even though you know you could lose your life. 2. Were all addicted to civilization and like all addicts we cling to our drug even when we know it is harming us. To get free, we need to admit we are powerless over our addiction. Write down three ways in which you are addicted to the pleasures of Civilization.

3. We all have a mixture of dominator and partnership experiences. We become freer when we take a look at where we are. Circle the number that best reflects your experiences.

Dominator

Partnership

As a child I had less physical affection 1 2 3

More physical affection 4 5

Physical punishment common 1 2 3

Physical punishment rare 4 5

Sexuality was restrictive, anxious 1 2 3

Permissive, pleasurable 4 5

Growing up, women were seen as inferior 1 2 3

Total equality of men/women 4 5

Family authoritarian (top down decisions) 1 2 3

Democratic (shared decisions) 4 5

Religion male/father oriented 1 2 3

Female/mother oriented 4 5

-End