Shifting Narratives

Global South is not a geographical location defined by
latitudes and longitudes;
it is a metaphorical identity that enfolds the unseen and the unheard, the disowned and the disavowed,
the delegitimized, invisibilized, and demonized billions.

This Change of Era heralds the coming of a pluriversal world. The dangers of a single story have become abundantly evident; it is time to to replace this Eurocentric monomyth with the multitudes of stories arising from the edges and margins.

These stories are not to be found in documents and archives. They arise from the crucibles of myriad cultures and contexts; they are embodiments of lived experiences, of generational wisdom, of relationships with the land, the sea, the mountains, and more-than-humans. And as they intersect and interweave, a pluriversal world where many worlds coexist is being painfully but irreversibly born.

This shift will be as profound as the Agricultural Revolution or the Industrial Revolution. It is already shifting our collective imaginaries and expanding our realm of possibilities beyond the matrix / cage of the hegemony. The synergy of myriad cosmologies, ontologies, and epistemologies will lead to the emergence of systems of greater complexity, elegance, and resilience.

Let us slow down and listen to the unheard, unnoticed, unappreciated voices and narratives signaling to us from the peripheries, from the edges of “'civilization'. Voices and stories that have for centuries been marginalized, demonized, invisibilized — the oppressed, brutalized, and systematically persecuted voices of the human and the more-than-human.

Global South exists in the peripheries and margins everywhere. We become aware of them in movements like Black Lives Matter, Farmers' Protest in India, Students Encampments across universities in the USA, and diverse movements of dissidence and resistance that fly under the radar, are never reported, often brutally quelled. They are in the 'sacrificial zones,' in the refugee camps, in the blue boats traversing the ocean in search of a safe haven the hegemony has deprived them of.

They are the billions standing up against the hegemonic cabal. They are the original inhabitants, the displaced and the dispossessed. Their land is expropriated in the name of development, their waters polluted for growth, and their sky poisoned for profit. The polycrisis, imminent planetary collapse, the silent steps of the Sixth Mass Extinction refuse to go away. They are all Global South--the unheard, unseen, unacknowledged and delegitimized voices. Now, they are bursting forth through the cracks.

This shift has always been evident in the edges and corners, and are now entering the center, the metropole. The hegemonic powers are lashing out in fury and futility. But the shift is inevitable. It becomes imperative to be able to nurture and nourish the emerging new stories. And to collectively build our capacities for radical imagination, community building, and collective sensing.

In that sense, to describe and inhabit a pluriverse requires not so much a worldview but a world-sense. It requires an understanding of our entangled lives on this sentient planet. It is predicated on the wondrous concept of Interbeing as propounded by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Change of Era

We are moving from an era of changes to a Change of Era, a profound civilizational Phase Shift where not only the paradigms but the foundational metaphors and narratives are shapeshifting, heralding very different futures. Born in these times, we are called upon to collectively bear witness. Even as the known world with its facades of growth and development collapses, new narratives are rising from the cracks and crevices of this rupture. Joanna Macy called this The Great Turning. These new narratives interweave and interconnect myriad epistemologies, ontologies, and cosmologies. They are the unheard and unacknowledged voices rendered invisible for centuries.

This liminal space between two worlds--the old that is dying and a new that is painfully being born--is a space between stories. It is characterized by extreme dissonance, violence, polarization, fracture, confusion, and chaos. While it is easy to feel the rumblings of chaos, what gets lost is the fiercely tender work being done to midwife different possible futures, the birthing of new stories.

The arrival of the new has never been easy. The work of midwifing, mediating, facilitating, and bridge-building is happening all over the world. The new narratives are already being scripted. History is rupturing and reshaping in real time as the imperial-colonial hegemonic empire crumbles. How we bear witness matters. Bearing witness is no easy task. It requires humility, integrity, and a rigor of observation that cuts through rampant propaganda. We are also the midwifes and hospice workers--letting go of what no longer serves Life to create space for the emergence of life-affirming futures.

In this moment, it is crucial to engage in radical reimagination, deliberate community building, and develop our capacities to participate in the co-creation of what is coming. As Arturo Escobar writes, 'there is still much in life that refuses to yield to the ontology of devastation and to the vacuous notion of progress'. It is this vibrant hybrid music that the vision of a pluriverse honors and applauds.

And the wisdom and vision for possible futures will come from the edges, margins, borders--the unheard, unseen, unacknowledged voices deliberately delegitimized and rendered invisible.

Change of Narrative(s)

Who tells the stories?
Whose stories are heard?
Who are the future imagineers ?

"It is easy to forget how mysterious and mighty stories are. They do their work in silence, invisibly. They work with all the internal materials of the mind and self. They become part of you while changing you. Beware the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world." ~Ben Okri

The world is shedding the constraints of a single dominant narrative and embracing a rich tapestry of diverse stories. The imposition of a unified narrative has long been a tool of control. Now, as this old narrative crumbles, new ones are emerging from unexpected and overlooked corners, weaving a complex web of perspectives.

Stories shape our lives and civilizations. The narratives we choose have far-reaching impacts. Today, the story of endless growth on a finite planet has led us to the edge of environmental collapse.

A story rooted in cultural supremacy, bodily superiority, and separation from nature has created a world benefiting the few at the expense of many. In our rapidly changing civilization, the stories we tell matter more than ever.

The narratives we share, gather, and amplify are crucial in shaping our futures, especially in our hyper-connected, technology-driven world.

For over five centuries, a singular Eurocentric narrative has dominated global discourse, shaping every aspect of our lives:

• Politics and governance

• Social structures and norms

• Education systems

• Healthcare policies and practices

• Environmental policies and regulations

• Economic models and institutions

This imperial-colonial project, once seemingly unshakeable, is now crumbling under its own weight.

The monomyth that has guided our civilization for centuries has led to:

• An extractive and exploitative economy benefiting the few

• Rampant individualism eroding community and societal bonds

• Extreme consumerism creating spiritual vacuity

• Widespread delusion through propaganda and disinformation

The Shifting Narrative Landscape

As the hegemonic narrative crumbles, suppressed stories emerge from overlooked corners. The propaganda machine falters, losing control of the narrative.

In this era of change, competing narratives shape our world. Hegemony maintains power through selective storytelling, while emerging voices challenge the status quo. This narrative shift is profound and far-reaching.

We are witnessing history being reshaped as the old narrative of supremacy and separation falters. New stories emerge from the cracks in hegemony's foundation, hidden pathways that grow wider and deeper, fracturing carefully constructed illusions. diffractions.

These emerging narratives inhabit a multitude of spaces, appear in many forms, and rapidly spread through hidden channels traversed by ordinary people. This is how a pluriverse is co-created. Outside established and endorsed power structures and the status quo, a pluriversal world is slowly taking shape. New narratives and imaginaries are bringing forth diverse possible futures.

These stories claim no superiority or universality. Instead, they are contextual, local, and partial. They form mosaics and constellations of epistemologies, representing the abundant diversity of our interconnected world.

“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms,” wrote Muriel Rukeyser.

Forthcoming book:
Reimagining Pluriversal Futures

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