The global ecosystem is going to keep deteriorating if civilization remains ignorant of their surroundings, says author, professor and meditation expert Ian Prattis in his book Failsafe.Prattis will be at the Brackendale Art Gallery Wednesday (Nov.19) from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. to talk about the book and his guidelines toward a better future.Prattis says he has hope for the human race, believing that once the world comes to a breaking point, humans will have to snap back into consciousness."This breaking point will then act as a catalyst, penetrating such ignorance and activating consciousness so it is propelled into expansion, deliberation and change," writes Prattis in his book. Failsafe is a critical response to Revenge of the Gaia by James Lovelock, which Prattis says is a negative account of human's inability to change the downward spiral civilization has already made."The solution is primarily a spiritual one - economics and politics are secondary," states Prattis in a press release.Prattis, a professor of anthropology and religion at Calreton University in Ottawa, said practicing meditation and Buddhism are ways to increase self-awareness and insight to the world's problems. "From this foundation and clarity and understanding we can respond to the crisis of the external environment because the internal environment has been properly cared for." He adds that the only way government and corporate leaders will make change is if people become more involved in their community, write letters and organize mass movements. "A massive global citizen response will elicit an equally massive government and corporate response, as the bottom-up movement and top-down strategies for drastic change," he said. Prattis also tells readers to persuade two per cent of the people they know to reduce consumption and conserve energy."A critical mass of two per cent will be satisfactory as a tipping point to get things moving in the right direction."Failsafe has a forward by David Suzuki, who comments that in the past century, humanity has transitioned from rural village inhabitants to big city dwellers and has become disconnected with nature as a result."The way we see the world, shapes the way we treat it and if we no longer perceive the planet as our sacred home, but instead, as an economic opportunity, then we will continue to log, mine, dam and degrade the biosphere," writes Suzuki.Prattis said he named the book Failsafe because it refers to a lever that diverts disaster when an intricate piece of machinery is just about to explode or break down."With respect to the global climate and economic crisis the failsafe lies deep in our mind," said Prattis. "So we have to access that by changing existing mind-sets."
