Who this article is for

people who received a recommendation from me to check out Daniel Schmachtenberger
people who wonder, why I watch/listen to so many podcasts from him
anyone who want to "save" the world from ourselves (as a human species)

Intro

Daniel Schmachtenberger is one of the most inspiring people I know! Right now (summer 2023) I couldn't name more than maybe a handful of other names (Charles Eisenstein, Philip McKernan, Forrest Landry, ...) that come anywhere close.
His unique view of the world, holding so many different perspectives at the same time, hugely influenced my own way of looking at reality.

In 10-20 years, almost everyone will know his name.

I'm sure that we will be one of the people whose name (almost) everyone will know, in case we as humanity accomplish the turnaround from the Story of Separation into the Story of Interbeing, co-creating the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible, and actually living in a way that is harmoniously aligned with nature & the Universe.

So for everyone who sees him- or herself as part of this shift & wants to truly contribute their own unique puzzle piece to this change without accidentally causing harm to the bigger puzzle, Daniel Schmachtenberger is a big, big recommendation!

What Inspires Me Most

What inspires me most about Daniel is the level of authenticity & integrity that I can feel in my body when I hear him speak or see him talk. He's not one of the people who only cognitively know what they are talking about, but have not really integrated the knowledge into their own being. From what I can sense, Daniel speaks from a deep level of integration, he embodies it, breathes it. And you can feel that!

So in a way because of that it doesn't really matter what he's talking about, just the quality with which he talks about things makes it already worthwhile & inspiring.
Nevertheless, I especially enjoy his high-level view on humanity & the world immensely. The Universe is complex, far more complex than we can imagine. And while I quickly get "turned off" by teachings that over-simplify our complex reality, with Daniel I never had that moment. He is able to hold the complexity of the world more than any other person I know, while still being practical & breaking it down in easy to understand concepts & stories.

He embodies & spreads a true, grounded hope that doesn't need to look away from reality to not get shattered, but that can fully embrace all the problems, drawing it's optimism from a deeper source.

And lastly (actually not the last, I could write on for hours, but the last in this section 😀) what is really inspiring is the kind of energy he transmits. While talking about the world's biggest problems he radiates joy, hope, and excitement. Not the kind of superficial hope we often see but real, grounded, "2nd-level" hope. A hope that doesn't need to look away from reality, all the immense problems at hand, all the pain & suffering. But a hope that can face all those things and still be optimistic, knowing that we can't say for sure, we're "going to make it", but also that we can't say for sure we're not! So we might just give it our best to try.

Get to know Daniel

Of course, in the end, you cannot separate the two things in a person like Daniel Schmachtenberger, whose life & work have become one. Nevertheless, I'll list resources here to get to know both "his work" and him as a person.

He uses the tools of the mind to speak from the heart.

Maybe the reason why this feels right is that people often "put him in a box" after hearing of him first when he talks about the Meta-Crisis, assuming that he's just "one of those intellectuals", because he's so excellent in making use of the tool of the mind, that it seems like that where he's speaking from.
When you hear/read some of his more personal podcasts/articles, you realize that (although he uses his intellect very eloquently) he speaks from the heart, having truly embodied the perspectives he then shares with words.

So the "as a person" section might be especially relevant for people who are otherwise quick to dismiss some as ... [fill in whatever it is for you].

His Work

To dive into his work, I most recommend listening to (at least) one of the Podcasts listed below:

Daniel Schmachtenberger @Rebel Wisdom - In Search of the Third Attractor
= most structured Overview of the Meta-Crisis that our world is facing today
"Bend not break" series @The Great Simplification
= 5-part series, more conversational (back-and-forth) style
Daniel Schmachtenberger @Green Pill - The Metacrisis
= shortest version I know that still gives a good overview

His writings & articles you can find on his personal website: https://civilizationemerging.com/
His biggest current project is the Consilience Project, which you can find here: https://consilienceproject.org/

Special Recommendation:

I recently listened to one podcast of Daniel about Artificial Intelligence which seems an interesting starting point as well. As he is not an "AI expert" (but still has a very deep understanding!) he rather puts it into the larger context of the state of our world today.
A super influential & highly recommended listen:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CoW--HXv9McYxSlBS1ss1OF5qVY3y5WDoh65gQT2Hvo/edit?usp=sharing

As a Person

Again, in case you can't sense the level of depth & integrity immediately, it's easy to dismiss him as "just another intellectual" when you first listen to one of his Podcasts where he explains the current state of our world.

So here are a few resources that could help to get a better feeling for Daniel as a human being:

Podcast Daniel Schmachtenberg @Deep Transformation
= about his childhood & upbringing + the relationship with his parents
Podcast #3 in "Bend not break" series
= about what gives him hope & meaning in the face of uncertainty
His personal Blog, especially the article "What I learned from my Dad about being a man"

Default (start here → go there)

If you know you want to dive into Daniel & his work, but you don't want to spend much time & energy deciding where to start & where to go next, then feel free to use this:

Talk at Emergence (20 min Youtube Video)
= my first ever contact with Daniel, beautiful campfire speech about "Why the Universe is essentially a Love Story".
It's Ok to Care (8 min Youtube Video)
= Sharing the 4 vows he made in his life that enable him to hold pain & suffering and still be hopeful & optimistic
one of the podcasts listed before (if you still don't want to decide, just start with the one on top, "In Search of the Third Attractor")

Or click here to get them click-ready embedded in the above order.

Resources

In the future, we will add links in this section that lead to extra collections of all his Podcasts, videos, etc.

Other

Some more info & depth will follow here, addressing concrete points of his work (e.g. The Meta-Crisis) and linking to articles where I share my personal perspective on it.

Appendix

Improving this article

Adding "The Game"
Adding "What's Next" section
→ see "[person] TEMPLATE"

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