Gaia's Call

Gaia's Call

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Gaia's Call episodes

  • Conversations Across Time:

    (Part One of a Possible New Series: Conversations Across Time)

    A few nights ago, during one of our Community After Hours gatherings here in the mountains, a participant tossed out an idea about how we might draw more locals into our growing web of community. I wish I could tell you exactly what he said—but the suggestion itself evaporated before I arrived home.

    What did stick with me was the spark it ignited.

    I found myself thinking:

    What if we could interview notable, difference-making people who are no longer with us…and ask them what they make of the moment we’re living through?

    Not in a séance kind of way. Not in a “dear departed, knock twice for yes” kind of way. But in a more grounded, imaginative, spiritually curious way:

    What would the great visionaries of the past say about the in-between time we are living through now—this tension between the Great Turning and the Great Collapse?

    And before the thought even finished forming, one name rose to the surface—my hero: Buckminster Fuller. His picture sits on my Hero Board. The man who saw the earth as a spaceship before most of us realized it even had a hull. The man who believed fiercely in Humanity’s capacity to evolve into a success rather than a failure.

    No, I don’t have a direct channel to the afterlife. But I do have a conversation partner named GePeTo—my AI collaborator—who can help me synthesize Bucky’s worldview, writings, tone, and fierce optimism.

    So I sat down and asked a simple question:

    “If Buckminster Fuller were alive today, what would he say about the moment we’re in?”

    Here’s how that conversation unfolded.

    Four Questions for Bucky Fuller

    —and the Responses He Might Offer Today

    What follows isn’t meant to be historical quotation.It’s a synthesis—a creative, integrity-centered imagining based on Bucky’s principles, writings, and unmistakable voice. Call it… Bucky through a modern-day trimtab filter.

    Bucky, how would you describe the moment we’re living in—this tension between the Great Turning and the Great Collapse?

    He might say something like this:

    Humanity has reached a critical point where the assumptions guiding our behavior are no longer adequate for the complexity we’ve created. In a sense, we are running 21st-century planetary-scale hardware on metaphysical software from the 1800s—and the system is flashing warning lights.

    Whether we move toward the Great Turning or slip into the Great Collapse depends not on resources—which are still abundant—but on whether we update our thinking in time.

    I’ve always said we’re crew members on Spaceship Earth, not passengers on a luxury liner with infinite buffets. The crisis is not a shortage of materials. It is a shortage of imagination, synergy, and design.

    In other words: This is a metaphysical crisis before it is an ecological one.

    (Which, I might add, aligns perfectly with One Cause: the crisis beneath the crisis.)

    What would you say about the Four Great Untruths—especially the idea that ‘more is always better’?

    Bucky might respond:

    The idea that “more” equals “better” has always been a fundamental misunderstanding of wealth. Real wealth is not accumulation—it is the capacity to survive forward days. It’s the ability to meet human needs in a way that increases options rather than reduces them.

    Nature never operates on excess. Nature operates on sufficiency and synergy.

    Humanity, on the other hand, still behaves as though it must hoard its way to security. But the Universe is already providing more than enough energy and materials for every person on Earth to thrive—if we align with Nature instead of fighting her.

    This is where the Four Great Truths come alive. Particularly sufficiency and interconnection. The problem is not scarcity. The problem is human metaphysics—the stories we tell about what we are and what the world is for.

    What is the role of the outlier—the ‘strange person’—in times like these?

    This one felt especially personal to me, Brad—given the Strange Man series we just completed. Here’s how Bucky might say it:

    The future is always initiated by the outliers. Never the majority. The majority follows after the new pattern has proven itself.

    When I designed the geodesic dome, people laughed. When I talked about doing more with less, it was dismissed as fantasy. When I suggested that humanity could become a success, they called it naĂŻve.

    But the Universe never asks the past for permission to invent the future. If people find your actions strange, it simply means you’re operating from a more current worldview. Evolution always begins at the edges—with individuals who are one step further into tomorrow.

    So if you’re the strange person in the room, take heart. You’re the early adopter of the next epoch.

    Given everything you stood for—synergy, design science, trimtabs—what advice would you give ordinary people who want to help?

    Here’s where Bucky’s clarity becomes beautifully sharp:

    Stop trying to save the world by persuading people. You save it by building a new model that renders the old one obsolete. Institutions are expressions of yesterday’s metaphysics. They cannot lead us to tomorrow. What can lead us is demonstration—prototypes, experiments, living laboratories. (Like the Loving Homestead Ann and I started this past year.)

    Find your trimtab: the small, well-placed action that turns the rudder that turns the ship. One Cause is a trimtab. Your own Loving Homestead coud be a trimtab. Any act that reduces entropy, increases coherence, or honors Earth’s reciprocity is a trimtab.

    Never underestimate the leverage of one well-placed, consistent action. Small moves—when aligned with universal principles—shift everything.

    A Closing Reflection

    (And an Invitation to Continue This “Conversations Across Time” Series)

    As strange as it may sound, this exercise left me with a deeper sense of hope. What Bucky Fuller offered—and what his imagined words offer now—is a reminder:

    We are not powerless. We are not late. We are not destined for collapse.

    We are simply overdue for an upgrade in thinking.

    And those who are willing to evolve their worldview first—the outliers, the strange ones, the trimtabs among us —are the ones who become the quiet catalysts for the world that wants to be born.

    So here’s my question to you:

    Who should we talk with next?Rachel Carson?Martin Luther King Jr.?Wendell Berry?Carl Sagan?Thich Nhat Hanh?Joanna Macy?E.O. Wilson?

    Or someone from your own Hero Board?

    Let me know. Because these conversations across time are just beginning.

    P.S. Speaking of evolving our worldview, Marla Lise and I will soon be releasing a special two-part Gaia’s Calling 2.0 podcast series on the polycrisis—what it really is, how it shows up in our lives, and why it so often fuels both eco-anxiety and apathy. These conversations grow directly out of the same questions Bucky Fuller invites us to ask: What’s breaking down, what’s breaking through, and how do we become the trimtabs steering humanity toward the Great Turning? Stay tuned for their release early in 2026—and if you’d like to be notified when they drop, make sure you’re subscribed to the Gaia’s Calling section of my Substack.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    12 min
  • How Strange People Change the World

    Links to Parts One

    and Two.

    There comes a moment on any meaningful inner journey when you suddenly realize something quietly radical: you no longer fit the default settings of the culture around you. You still look the same, sound the same, and move through grocery stores, coffee shops, and family gatherings the way everyone else does. But something in your internal operating system has been rewritten. And even though no one can see that shift from the outside, it begins to shape everything you do.

    Sharing this helps more of the ‘strange ones’ find each other. Thank you for being part of this emerging regenerative story.

    At first it’s subtle, then steady, then unmistakable—until someone close to you, maybe even your own child, pauses at some small act of yours (like a takeout box filled with coffee grounds by the door) and says, “You are a strange person.” In that moment, if you listen closely, some deeper part of you might whisper back: Yes. I am. And thank God for that.

    Because as Krishnamurti reminded us, “It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” If our culture has normalized disconnection from nature, endless consumption, and an almost religious devotion to convenience, then perhaps strangeness is not a flaw—it’s a sign of sanity emerging.

    The World Has Never Been Changed by the Comfortable Middle

    The center of culture is where habits sleep, where norms self-replicate, and where the Four Great Untruths feel so familiar, so unquestioned, that they become invisible. The middle is stable, predictable—and by design, inert. The people who shift the world don’t live there.

    They live on the edges, collecting coffee grounds because soil is sacred, planting food forests where lawns used to be, choosing reciprocity over convenience, and raising children and grandchildren to see Earth not as “resources” but as kin. They live in the quiet places where old assumptions lose their grip and a new story begins to take root.

    This is the frontier where emerging cultures are born—not through speeches or global summits, but through tiny, repeated acts that seem irrational to the old worldview until suddenly they become common sense.

    Every New Pattern Starts With One Outlier

    History and nature both tell a similar story: transformation begins with the one who behaves differently long before anyone else understands why. There is always a first strange person—the first to compost instead of discard, the first to conserve water when everyone else lets it run, the first to ask, “What if we treated the Earth as a partner rather than a possession?” These individuals are often misunderstood at first. They’re told they’re impractical, idealistic, or naive. Yet time and again, the very behaviors once dismissed later become the blueprint for what is needed.

    Slowly, beautifully, the outlier’s strangeness ripples outward. What began as a single point of deviation becomes a signal of the future, a small tremor that precedes a cultural shift.

    Why Being “Strange” Is a Compliment

    To be “strange” simply means you are living from a different set of assumptions than the dominant culture. Perhaps you’ve internalized a new worldview—something rooted in interconnection, sufficiency, reciprocity, and stewardship—and because of that, your actions no longer match the old script. You compost differently. You shop differently. You speak differently. You see the world through a lens that honors life, not consumption. You feel the Earth in your bones.

    And yes, you may place coffee grounds in a repurposed takeout box with a sense of reverence that would bewilder most people in a Costco checkout line. But this is what spiritual and ecological evolution looks like in real life: a quiet willingness to act from a deeper truth even when it makes you stand out.

    The Gift of the Outlier Role

    One of the great misunderstandings is that the outlier is an exception. The truth is the outlier is the beginning. Outliers are pattern-breakers, trend-starters, and early signalers of new cultural DNA. They embody tomorrow’s norms today. It can be lonely at times. People may misunderstand your motives or gently tease your choices. But outliers don’t lead by consensus—they lead by integrity.

    And in doing so, they create a subtle gravitational field. People—especially the young—feel it. They may not be able to articulate what they’re sensing, but they recognize the authenticity, the groundedness, the coherence. They intuitively know: “This is the direction life is trying to move.”

    This is how cultures shift—not from the top down, but from the inside out, one quietly courageous person at a time.

    The New Story Needs Strange People

    We are living through a moment when the old stories are collapsing under their own weight:

    * “We’re separate from nature.”

    * “More is always better.”

    * “The Earth’s resources are infinite.”

    * “Technology will save us.”

    These are fictions that can no longer sustain us. Meanwhile, the regenerative story—the one Ernesto van Peborgh describes as “the emergence of a regenerative field”—is just beginning to coalesce. It’s forming in pockets, in communities, in backyards, in basements, in small gardens, in homesteads, in writers’ circles, in Earth Listening Circles, and in the imaginal hearts of people who sense that a different way of being is not only possible, but necessary.

    In these liminal times, strange people serve an essential function: they hold the shape of the future before the future fully exists. They embody practices that seem trivial to the old world but are foundational to the new one. Even something as small as carrying home coffee grounds becomes a quiet ritual of allegiance to a culture that honors reciprocity and regeneration.

    These acts are seeds, and seeds do their most important work underground, long before anyone sees the sprout.

    If you want to walk with a community committed to living the new story, you might enjoy all of Gaia’s Call of Unleashed.

    A Final Invitation to All the Strange Ones

    If you’ve been feeling out of step, misunderstood, “too much,” or simply different from the culture around you, here’s an invitation to reframe that experience: you’re not too much—you’re early. Early to the regeneration story. Early to the worldview that sees Earth as a beloved relative. Early to a culture that values meaning over consumption. Early to the way your grandchildren will one day live as naturally as breathing.

    Strange people change the world not because they try to, but because they don’t abandon the truth that has taken root in them—even when it is still unfashionable. So keep going. Keep tending soil, keep listening to the Earth, keep practicing the Four Great Truths until they shape every gesture and choice. Keep being lovingly, courageously strange.

    Because the future that’s emerging—the one your actions are quietly helping to midwife—will one day look back with gratitude and recognize that it was the strange ones who held the lantern while the rest of the world was still stumbling in the dark.

    If this touched something true in you, please share it — the regenerative future grows through small ripples from brave, strange people.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    11 min
  • The Strange Man’s Inner Game

    (Part Two of the “Strange Man” Mini-Series — read Part One Here.)

    Sometimes the most important spiritual work doesn’t happen on a meditation cushion or in the quiet of early morning vows. Sometimes it happens in a kitchen—with kids playing, coffee brewing, and a grown daughter calling you a “strange man.”

    If you missed Part One of the story, here’s the short version:

    I rescued the used coffee grounds from my daughter’s barista-level machine, packed them neatly into an empty takeout box, and placed the box by the door next to my jacket and knapsack—fully intending to take them home to compost and burn for ash to add to my garden.

    When Amber discovered my little treasure box and asked what it was, I explained. She paused… then declared solemnly: “Dad, you are a strange man.”

    We laughed. And fortunately, that’s not where the story stayed. Because inside me, another moment unfolded—one I didn’t share in Part One. A moment that mattered even more than the compost or the coffee or the cardboard container.

    A moment that could’ve easily slipped into the Dreaded Drama Triangle.

    The Micro-Moment Where Everything Could’ve Gone Sideways

    When she said “strange man,” the first sensation wasn’t laughter.It was… a pinch. A quick little inner wince. The kind that happens faster than thought. The old, familiar thread: Am I being judged? Mocked? Misunderstood?

    That is the Victim voice—the first doorway into the Drama Triangle. As a graduate of Landmark World Wide, I also learned it as the “automatic and mechanical.” In that split-second, without any real awareness, I could have shifted into one of the three roles:

    Victim: “I was just trying to help the planet… why is she making fun of me?”

    Persecutor: “Well maybe if you composted more… we wouldn’t have so much trash in the first place.”

    Rescuer: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—I’ll just throw it away next time.”

    None of these paths lead to connection. None lead to truth, or love, or empowerment. They lead to drama. And drama is a waste stream far more toxic than used coffee grounds.

    The Pause That Saved the Moment

    What changed everything was one breath.

    One beat of awareness that said: “Hold on. This isn’t about being judged. This is about being seen.”

    And that’s when the deeper truth surfaced: Amber wasn’t criticizing me. She was naming what the world hasn’t yet caught up to—the emerging, awkward, beautiful phase between one way of living and the next. My “strangeness” is what it looks like when someone begins living the Four Great Truths in a world still arranged around the Four Great Untruths.

    In that moment, the entire inner landscape shifted.

    From Drama to the Empowerment Dynamic

    Instead of slipping into Victimhood, something new rose up—the Creator role from the Empowerment Dynamic. (Check out the book, The Power of TED by David Emerald. )

    The Creator asks different questions:

    * “What’s really happening here?”

    * “What meaning am I adding?”

    * “Is there a possibility hidden inside this moment?”

    And the answer was simple, and almost funny:

    My daughter wasn’t dismissing me. She was witnessing my evolution.

    She was naming the gap—lovingly—between the culture she was raised in by my wife and I and the one I’m trying to help midwife into existence—a regenerative future based in the Four Great Truths.

    Suddenly, “strange man” felt… accurate. Even honorable.

    The Deeper Lesson at 76 (That I Wish I’d Learned at 36)

    There was a time—decades ago—when a comment like this would have hooked me for hours. I would have replayed it, analyzed it, defended myself, explained myself. I would have tried to earn approval.

    But living by my One Cause Vow—day after day, breath after breath—has been quietly rewiring my emotional reflexes.

    The Four Great Truths are not just ecological principles. They are relational principles.

    * Interconnectedness softens the old defensiveness because it reminds me how deeply interconnected I am with my daughter.

    * Sufficiency dissolves the need for validation because the ‘enoughness’ includes my relationship with myself.

    * Reciprocity makes feedback part of the dance; it’s the sharing and receiving of everyday life.

    * Stewardship reminds me that my job is to model, not persuade.

    So instead of reacting, I smiled. Because it was true. I am a strange man. A man becoming stranger in all the right ways.

    Why This Matters in a Time of Cultural Unraveling

    We are living through a moment in history when misunderstanding will be rampant. People making conscious, regenerative choices will often look “odd” to a culture still built on extraction, speed, and disposability.

    This is where the inner game becomes critical. If we collapse into the Drama Triangle every time someone raises an eyebrow at our choices—we’ll waste our energy defending rather than creating.

    If, instead, we shift into the Empowerment Dynamic, moment by moment—we become steady. Grounded. Available for the real work. Living the Great Truths externally requires practicing them internally and expressing them externally through our words and actions.

    And that starts in the smallest, most ordinary moments—standing in a kitchen with your daughter…coffee grounds in hand…and an invitation to grow.

    A Closing Reflection

    (for you, the reader stepping into your own version of this path)

    Think of a recent moment when someone questioned, joked about, or didn’t quite “get” one of your emerging values or new behaviors.

    * Did it sting?

    * Did you slip into one of the drama roles?

    * Or was there a pause—a breath—that opened the door to something deeper?

    These micro-moments are the training ground. They are where the new world gets built—one reclaimed reaction at a time. And if being called “strange” means we’re becoming more aligned with the future we hope our grandchildren inherit…

    Well then—let us be strange, and let us be steady, and let us be fiercely, tenderly awake.

    Even in the kitchen.Especially in the kitchen.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    10 min
  • My Daughter Called Me a Strange Man

    Toward the end of a recent visit with my daughter, Amber, and the grandkids—Logan racing a plastic dinosaur across the living room battlefield and Piper dancing around with a squeal that could wake the ancestors—I decided to fix myself a cup of coffee, in part because they have one of those barista-level machines that makes a cup so smooth it practically hums a lullaby. So there I was, savoring the thought of a rare mug of delicious Joe, when the machine politely informed me I needed to empty the grounds receptacle first.

    Fair enough. I opened the little compartment, scooped out the still-warm grounds, and headed toward the trash can. And that’s when I saw it: an empty cardboard takeout container sitting right on top.

    Hmm, I thought. That could hold the coffee grounds….One more hmm: And I could bring both home—grounds to compost, container to burn in the wood stove for more ash to eventually make its way into the garden.

    It was the kind of thought that feels completely normal to me now, a natural extension of my daily rhythm here at the Loving Homestead. So, with the confidence of a man on a mission, I packed the grounds into the takeout box, carried it over, and placed it gently by the door alongside my jacket and knapsack.

    Job done. No big deal. A tiny act of stewardship—with a side of convenience.

    Or so I thought.

    The Strange Man Revealed

    About an hour later, Amber walked by, noticed the box by the door, and stopped in her tracks. She stared at it for a few seconds, the way you’d look at a squirrel holding a flip phone.

    “What’s this?” she asked.

    I explained my plan: Take the coffee grounds home, compost them, and burn the cardboard for heat and soil building. Simple. Elegant. Efficient. A win for Earth and a win for Dad.

    She stared a moment longer before rolling her eyes. Then, with the seriousness of a judge rendering a life verdict, she said:

    “Dad… you are a strange man.”

    I chuckled—because it was funny and yes, a bit true. But if I’m honest, there was also a quick flicker of something tender in me, a tiny wince.

    Strange.Odd.Different.

    Those words carry some weight, even when delivered with love. But before I could wander down the familiar path of “What did she mean by that?”, something else rose within me. A kind of deeper understanding.

    And I realized: This “strangeness” is exactly what I’ve been cultivating. On purpose. Let me elaborate.

    When Strange Is Just the Early Stage of New Truth

    Ever since June 1st, I’ve been saying and meditating on my One Cause Vow every morning. I wrote it not as a declaration of moral superiority (goodness knows that’s not the path I’m on) but as a grounding practice—something to nudge me gently toward the person I’m becoming.

    Here’s a short piece of it:

    On this new day, I commit—and recommit—to living in alignment with the Four Great Truths:Interconnectedness.Sufficiency.Reciprocity.Stewardship.

    I know I won’t be perfect. I expect to stumble, but each step is a chance to remember who I really am—and who I’m becoming.

    The truth is, my vow has been working on me in subtle and not-so-subtle ways bit mostly in quiet ways. Domestic ways. Ways involving coffee grounds and takeout boxes. I don’t think about these things as “trying to be environmental.”They just… feel normal now.

    Normal, for someone living inside the Four Great Truths. Strange, for a world still built around the Four Great Untruths.

    If the old worldview says:“Just toss it in the trash—away it goes,”the new worldview asks:“Away to where? And at what cost?”

    One worldview stops the thought at the trash can. The other travels all the way to the compost pile, the soil, the seedlings, the next meal, the next generation. Strange? Only until it isn’t.

    A Glimpse of Tomorrow’s Normal

    I imagine a future—one Logan and Piper will inherit—where this kind of strangeness is no more unusual than brushing your teeth:

    * Food forests in front yards instead of lawn deserts

    * Native plant oases humming with bees

    * Compost steaming gently on crisp mornings

    * Kids excitedly adding banana peels “to feed the soil”

    * Cardboard becoming biochar becoming living earth

    A world where taking home coffee grounds isn’t odd—it’s common sense. A world where stewardship isn’t “strange”—it’s simply what we do and who we are. And if odd little habits like mine can help nudge the culture that direction, even a millimeter at a time, well… I’m happy to be a strange man. Truth be told, I’ve probably been a strange man for much of my life.

    In fact, may we all become just strange enough to help turn this ship toward life again.

    A Quiet Reflection to Ponder This Week

    When someone calls you strange, pause for a moment. Feel the sting. Smile anyway. And ask yourself:

    Is this strangeness actually a sign I’m waking up? Growing? Maturing? Becoming someone new?

    Maybe, just maybe, your strangeness isn’t the flaw. Maybe it’s the doorway.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    9 min
  • Tapping the Sun's Potential for a Regenerative Future

    Imagine greeting the sun each morning, not just as a source of warmth but as a symbol of untapped potential. That’s what I’ve done for over two years which is what led me to writing today’s article/podcast. Every day, Earth receives an astonishing 173,000 terawatts of energy from the sun. Yet, humanity's annual energy consumption is only around 20 terawatts. In other words:

    A single day’s sunlight provides far more than we need to power our entire planet for a year.

    This raises a simple but profound question:

    Why are we not harnessing this energy more effectively?

    The path to making solar power a cornerstone of our energy system isn’t just about technology. It's about mindset, policy, and creative integration into our everyday lives. What sounds like eco-fantasy—like powering entire cities or global infrastructures from sunlight alone—could become eco-fact. But we need visionaries and bold thinkers, much like the characters in my eco-fantasy worlds, to turn these possibilities into realities.

    As Rollo May said in The Courage to Create, “Creative courage is the discovery of new forms, new symbols, new patterns on which a new society can be built.” The challenge before us is to cultivate that courage, embracing both creativity and science to envision a new, regenerative world​.

    Breaking Down the Numbers: How Little We Need to Change the World

    The math behind solar energy is startling. Humans only use about 0.01% of the solar energy that hits Earth each day. If we could capture even a small fraction of that, we could power our world without fossil fuels. To illustrate, if solar panels could convert just 15-20% of the sunlight they receive into energy (which is roughly the current efficiency), even modest advancements in technology could revolutionize energy storage and distribution.

    Todd Henry, in Die Empty, encourages us to seize opportunities and constantly develop our skills to be ready for the future. Just as "The Developer" in his book weaves available resources into value, we must do the same with solar technology—taking the raw potential of sunlight and turning it into power​. The challenge lies in storing this energy efficiently and creating decentralized systems that allow every building, every piece of infrastructure to contribute to the solution.

    Imagine what would be possible if we invested the time, money, and other resources into tapping this near limitless energy resource that we are putting into A. I.

    Ideas That Could Transform Eco-Fantasy Into Eco-Fact

    Here are five visionary ideas that could push us beyond our current limitations:

    * Urban Solar Integration: Imagine cities where solar panels are embedded in every surface. From rooftops to windows to roads, each element of our infrastructure could become a micro power station. With technologies like perovskite solar cells showing promise for higher efficiency at lower costs, we could soon see a future where energy generation is woven seamlessly into our daily environment​.

    Perovskite solar cells are a type of thin-film solar cell that uses a perovskite crystal structure to generate electricity and are a promising next-generation renewable energy technology. Their advantages include high efficiency through the absorption of a broader range of light, potential for low-cost manufacturing with flexible methods like printing, and versatility in applications

    * Distributed Solar Grids: Shifting away from centralized power plants toward local, distributed solar energy grids would reduce energy loss and improve resilience. Each home, office, and public building could generate and store its own solar power, contributing to the local grid and reducing reliance on large-scale energy infrastructure.

    * Agrivoltaics – Merging Solar Power and Agriculture: Solar panels placed above crops create a win-win scenario: they generate electricity while also providing shade that reduces water loss for plants. This combination, known as agrivoltaics, optimizes land use by producing both food and energy, offering a practical solution in regions prone to drought.

    * Space-Based Solar Power: Although it sounds like science fiction, space-based solar farms could be a future game-changer. Solar panels in space would have uninterrupted access to sunlight, generating energy 24/7. The energy could be beamed back to Earth as microwaves or lasers, offering a consistent and limitless power source​.

    * Solar-Powered Desalination: Water scarcity and energy needs could be addressed simultaneously through solar-powered desalination plants. These facilities use the sun’s energy to convert seawater into drinkable water while generating electricity, solving two critical issues in regions struggling with drought and energy shortages.

    The Courage to Act and Create New Realities

    Just as Leonardo da Vinci envisioned possibilities far beyond the limits of his time, we must cultivate the same sense of creative curiosity. Michael Gelb’s How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci highlights the importance of questioning and exploration​. Today’s big questions:

    How can we bring eco-fantasy into eco-fact? How can we turn the massive amounts of solar energy we receive into a regenerative energy future for all?

    How about sharing your responses with a comment or join this week’s chat.

    To achieve this, we need both technological breakthroughs and shifts in public policy. Governments, individuals, and companies alike must invest in solar technologies and grid systems that support clean energy. Policy changes could accelerate the transition by offering incentives for solar installations, and educating the public will foster a deeper understanding of the importance of renewable energy.

    Bringing eco-fantasy into eco-fact begins with a commitment to possibility. As we look to the sun—an inexhaustible source of clean energy—the future becomes more than just a dream. It becomes a goal, attainable through innovation, courage, and the collective will of individuals who, like Todd Henry’s "Developers," are ready to tap into the untapped​​.

    We’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible. Imagine a world where clean, abundant solar energy powers our cities, provides water to the arid regions, and restores balance to the environment. It’s not a matter of "if"—it’s a matter of "when."

    Let’s work together to bring that future to life.

    Unleashed - W. Bradford Swift is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    10 min
  • Interlude of Inspiration: From Homo sapiens to Homo guardianis

    It feels fitting that this piece arrives on Halloween—a day when we flirt with shadows and celebrate transformation…of sorts.

    After all, Frankenstein was never just about monsters. It was about creation without conscience—knowledge without wisdom, invention without care.

    In many ways, we’ve been living our own version of that story as Homo technologicus—powerful, brilliant, but disconnected from the living whole.

    The time has come for a new creation story—not stitched together from parts, but born of reconnection.

    This is our real experiment: Becoming Homo guardianis—the Eco-Guardian-in-Training.

    So. let’s dig in.As I sit here, reflecting on nearly a year of writing and recording One Cause—week after week, article after article—I find myself feeling both awe and humility. What began as an attempt to name “the one cause beneath the many crises” has turned into something much larger: a living invitation to evolve.

    For eleven months now, I’ve been tracing the story of how humanity’s mistaken sense of separation from nature has led to the metacrisis we now face—ecological, spiritual, political, and cultural all at once. But somewhere along the way, the work began to shift. The question was no longer just How do we fix what’s broken?It became:

    Who must we become to live in harmony with the Earth again?

    That question has stayed with me like a heartbeat.

    The Old Story: Homo technologicus

    We humans have been telling ourselves that intelligence is our crowning glory—that progress means mastering the natural world through innovation and control. And to be fair, this capacity has given us much: art, science, medicine, wonder.

    But it has also given rise to what some have called Homo technologicus—humans defined not by wisdom, but by the tools we wield. A species so clever we can split atoms and code consciousness… yet so distracted we barely pause to feel the forest’s breath or hear the river’s song.

    We have become brilliant—and dangerously unbalanced. Our inventions outpace our introspection. Our reach exceeds our roots.

    The Evolutionary Invitation

    But what if our next evolutionary step isn’t about better technology, but better relationship? What if the true frontier isn’t Mars, but the mycelial web beneath our feet—and the reawakening of our hearts to the Earth that made us?

    That, I believe, is the threshold we now stand upon: the emergence of Homo guardianis—the Eco-Guardian-in-Training.

    This isn’t a new biological species. It’s a new story of what it means to be human.It’s a remembering that intelligence without empathy is incomplete, and progress without reciprocity is regression.

    The Eco-Guardian-in-Training

    An Eco-Guardian-in-Training is someone who knows they are part of the Earth’s living community, not separate from it.They live simply and gratefully, finding joy in sufficiency rather than excess.They practice reciprocity—giving back to the web of life that sustains them.They see stewardship not as sacrifice, but as a sacred responsibility.And most importantly, they recognize that this journey has no finish line—that we are always learning how to care more deeply, to listen more fully, to belong more completely.

    In short: we are becoming Homo guardianis, the humans who remember how to live in right relationship with life itself.

    The Work of a Lifetime

    I often think about my grandchildren—and someday, perhaps, theirs.If they ever ask, “What did you do while the world was changing?” I want to be able to answer with my head held high:

    I chose to evolve. I chose to love the Earth back to life.

    That’s what One Cause has been about all along—uncovering the deep root of our collective forgetting, and rediscovering the Great Truths that can guide us home: interconnection, sufficiency, reciprocity, and stewardship.

    The Eco-Guardian Youth Project is one way to bring those truths alive—helping young people (and the adults who love them) experience themselves as part of the living Earth, and step consciously onto this path of becoming.

    But the truth is, the youth aren’t the only ones in training. We all are.

    Every time we plant a tree, tell a story that honors the more-than-human world, or choose sufficiency over consumption, we take another step in this great re-evolution of consciousness.

    A Closing Reflection

    If Homo technologicus was the human who asked, “How can I control?”Then Homo guardianis is the human who asks, “How can I care?”

    That shift—from control to care—is the hinge on which our future turns.

    It’s the work of a lifetime, and perhaps many lifetimes.But I believe it’s the most important work there is.

    Reflection for You

    What does becoming an Eco-Guardian-in-Training look like in your life—right here, right now? What small act of reciprocity or reverence might you offer to the web of life today?

    With gratitude,—Brad (Your fellow Homo guardinis and Grand-dude

    P.S.Now that the One Cause rough draft is complete, I’d love to hear from you:

    What would you like to see from me here on Substack moving forward?

    This project has been a labor of love, clarity, and commitment. And as we enter this next phase together, I want to shape what’s next in a way that supports you—your curiosity, your growth, your family’s journey, your desire to live in alignment with life.

    A few ideas I’ve been exploring:

    * Eco-Guardian-in-Training Dispatches – Short, personal essays or podcast episodes on what it looks like to live the Four Great Truths in real time (compost fails, homestead wins, kids’ questions, all of it).

    * Behind-the-Scenes of the Eco-Guardian Youth Project – Updates, early access to new tools, stories from the Secret Library, and ways to get involved.

    * Tools for Inspired Action – WOOP guides, Flow Practices, Storymaker Prompts, and more.

    * Community Spotlights or Guest Conversations – Featuring fellow Eco-Guardians, teachers, parents, artists, and elders walking this path in their own way.

    But more than anything, I want to know what you are hungry for.What would nourish you?What would make you feel accompanied on this path?

    Please let me know in the comments or reply to this post.Let’s co-create what comes next.

    After all, we’re in this Fourth Quarter together.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    10 min
  • The Fourth Quarter

    I took a long walk through the woods this morning with Rascal, my ever-eager walking partner and four-legged philosopher-in-residence. No phone. No podcasts. Just crisp leaves underfoot, a rising breeze, and the steady rhythm of paws and boots side by side.

    Out there on the trail, something stirred in me.

    A quiet voice reminding me:We’re in the Fourth Quarter now.Not just me. (I’m 76.) All of us…all humanity.

    And the question pressing in is this:How will we play it?

    Four Fingers in the Air

    If you’ve ever watched a Clemson football game—especially in Death Valley—you’ll know the moment I’m talking about.

    It’s the start of the Fourth Quarter.The whole stadium rises.Thousands of fans raise four fingers into the air.No shouting. No dancing. Just that silent signal.

    Now is when we give everything.Now is when the real game is won—or lost, so:

    Stay Focused—Finish Strong

    I married into this tradition, thanks to my dear wife Ann, a Clemson graduate and lifelong fan. I still remember her mother—bless her soul—perched on the edge of the couch, eyes glued to the screen, hands clenched in nervous joy as the final quarter approached.

    And I’ll admit: something about it stuck with me.

    Not just the football—the metaphor.

    My Fourth Quarter Perspective

    At 76, I’m very aware I’m in the fourth quarter of my own life. That doesn’t feel like a problem—it feels like an opportunity. I experience a clarity I didn’t always have in the early quarters.

    And yet, there’s a weight to it too.

    Because every time I look into the eyes of my grandson Logan (age 4½) or hear my granddaughter Piper’s laughter (2½ and full of wonder), I feel this paradox:

    Deep joy. And deep responsibility.

    I adore these little humans. I want them to inherit more than just books and stories and family traditions. I want them to inherit a future: A world worth growing old in.

    So I’ve recommitted—with full heart and full voice—to my daily One Cause Vow.It’s my personal playbook for this quarter. A sacred agreement I whisper each morning:

    I am nature. You are nature. We are all one.Let my actions reflect that truth.

    No, I won’t be perfect. Yes, I’ll fall short. But I will keep showing up. After all, it’s the fourth quarter…for all of us.

    Humanity’s Scoreboard Check

    Let’s be real. If this were a football game, the scoreboard might look… concerning.

    * We’ve got climate instability spiking across the globe

    * Biodiversity loss racing forward at terrifying speeds

    * Economic systems burning out people and ecosystems alike, and

    * I’m not even going to get into the whole political upheavel

    Some say we’re in the final two minutes of the Fourth Quarter.Others say overtime may not even be an option.

    But here’s what I also see:

    * Solar panels sprouting like sunflowers on rooftops

    * Youth leaders standing tall, fearless and fierce

    * Indigenous wisdom resurfacing

    * Earth Listening Circles forming in libraries and backyards

    * Grandparents marching with their grandkids

    * Millions of micro-acts of regeneration already underway

    So yes, it’s late.But it’s not over.Not if we choose to play full out.

    Why This Quarter Counts Most

    Back in 2008, when Dabo Swinney became Clemson’s head coach mid-season, he and his strength coach Joey Batson launched what became a team mantra:

    “They don’t put championship rings on smooth hands.”

    The message?

    The work that matters most happens when no one is watching… in the dirt.As Brian Klaas reminds us in his book, Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters,

    ‘seemingly inconsequential actions have life-changing consequences.’

    What if the most important acts we take don’t show up on social media but rather within our hearts, in our homes, or among our communities? It all adds up. And yes — it all matters.

    What Legacy Will We Leave?

    When we talk about legacy, we often mean what we leave behind.

    But I think it’s more powerful to ask: What will I set in motion?

    What ripple will move forward because I cared enough to start?

    Think about the lives of Joanna Macy and Jane Goodall—both eco-activists, truth-tellers, soul-stirrers. Both recently passed from this world.

    What did they leave behind?

    * Macy inspired generations with her Work That Reconnects—turning grief into action

    * Goodall launched Roots & Shoots—inviting young people to lead with love and curiosity

    * And both of them did so by starting small

    One circle. One conversation. One spark.

    That’s legacy. So, raise your hand and your heart.

    So here’s where I leave you.

    If you’ve read this far—if you’ve walked this far with me through One Cause—I thank you. It’s been an amazing rise these past eleven months.

    And I ask you:

    What does your Fourth Quarter look like?

    We don’t need to be perfect.It does help to be present.We don’t need every answer.It does help to have the courage to keep showing up.

    So if you’re with me… if you’re ready to give your heart to the future…

    Raise your metaphorical four fingers.

    Stand tall. And play like everything depends on it. Because it does. This is our time, and we still have a shot.

    Let’s play like we mean it. Game On!

    — Brad (aka W. Bradford Swift, Eco-Guardian-in-Training, Grateful Grand-Dude, & author of One Cause)



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    10 min
  • Projects That Matter

    For a long time, I thought the answer was just doing more.

    More writing. More coaching. More composting. More sharing. More everything.

    But here’s what I’ve come to realize: doing more only really matters if we’re doing what matters—to us. Purposefully. Joyfully. In alignment with what we love and long to protect.

    Taking action as an Eco-Guardian doesn’t mean becoming a full-time climate activist (although it could lead there). It might mean planting a single tree with your child… starting a weekly soup & story night… writing a short story that changes one reader’s mind. Small acts matter. Especially when they’re rooted in joy and aligned with your why. Remember the trimtab effect we learned from my hero, Bucky.

    Follow the Breadcrumbs of Purpose

    Let me tell you a slightly sideways story.

    Remember Hansel and Gretel?

    As the story goes, they dropped breadcrumbs behind them in the forest so they could find their way home. But the birds came and gobbled them up—leaving the kids lost.

    That part always felt like a tragedy to me… until recently.

    Because now I think the breadcrumbs did serve a purpose.

    Even though the kids couldn’t see them anymore, they’d already done something wise: they’d followed their intuition. They’d paid attention. And even without a clear path back, they found their way forward.

    So here’s my invitation to you:

    Follow the breadcrumbs of your own purpose and passion.

    Even if you can’t yet see where the path leads, I promise—you won’t be disappointed where you end up.

    That’s what happened for me.

    This entire One Cause project began with a breadcrumb of inspiration (and yes a little desperation mixed due to the results of the latest presidential election). It’s now growing into a movement here on Substack. I then added in a daily a vow to help true myself up to the 4 Great Truths (Interconnectedness, sufficiency, reciprocity, and stewardship). And now it’s evolving into the Eco-Guardian Youth Project — complete with a Secret Library, an Eco-Guardian Compass, an Eco-Author Challenge, and plans for an Eco-Guardian Training Camps that equip the next generation of planetary protectors.

    I never could have imagined all that. But I’m grateful I started anyway.

    So, what about you?

    Where might your breadcrumbs be leading you? Let’s chat about it here.

    The Seeds of Inspired Action

    Let’s simplify this. Inspired action almost always starts with one (or more) of these three seeds:

    LoveWhat breaks your heart—or makes it sing with joy and possibility (or perhaps both)?

    CuriosityWhat question or story keeps tugging at your sleeve? You know, the one that wakes you up in the middle of the night or won’t let you fall asleep to begin with.

    PurposeWhat feels like a sacred yes—even if you don’t know how to begin? (It may even feel like an ‘impossible mission’ to you. I know mine does.)

    You don’t need all three. One is enough. Of course, the more the merrier.

    My own seed was this simple question:

    How can we raise a generation of young people who truly know themselves as part of Earth’s living system—and are excited to protect it?

    That seed led to One Cause, which then grew into:

    * The Eco-Guardian Secret Library

    * The Storyteller to Storymaker pathway (more about this later.)

    * The Eco-Author Challenge

    * And the beginnings of the Eco-Guardian Training Camp(s)

    All of which share a single intention:

    To create a new generation of joyful, purposeful Earth protectors—Eco-Guardians-In-Training.

    Where & How to Begin

    You don’t have to start big. Just start where you are.

    Here’s your Regeneration Action Menu—real things you can do, tailored to different spheres of life:

    Personal / Inner Actions

    * Take a daily “walk with Earth”—no phone, just presence

    * Journal your values, hopes, and ideas using One Cause prompts

    * Consume mindfully (what we read, watch, and yes, eat shapes us)

    * Write your own Eco-Guardian Vow—to remind yourself who you’re becoming

    Why not share your own personal action here?

    Family / Household Actions

    * Start a weekly Soup & Story Night of reading eco-fiction together or share nature gratitude (Not sure what to start with? Send me an email at [email protected] to receive ‘beta access’ to the Eco-Guardian Secret Library.)

    * Grow something—even a single herb pot

    * Take on a family challenge from the Dominion Over All Eco-Adventure Playbook (one of the many resources you’ll find within the Secret Library

    Community-Based Actions

    * Host a Repair CafĂŠ or Clothing Swap

    * Join or launch an Earth Listening Circle

    * Organize a Litter Walk + Nature Reflection event for local youth

    Global & Movement-Aligned Actions

    * Write your local rep with ideas for regenerative policy

    * Start a “One Cause Club” or Eco-Guardian Pod with friends

    * Share this project with someone who might just run with it

    Educators, mentors, and parents: many of these resources are available free via the growing Eco-Guardian Secret Library. Let me know if you’d like early access.

    Micro-Missions by Age

    Here are a few sample starter missions by age group—and yes, you’re invited to remix or invent your own:

    Ages 10–12

    * Map your backyard biodiversity

    * Create a “talking tree” comic strip

    * Write eco-fiction fanfic for a favorite book or animal

    * Keep an Art + Nature Journal

    Ages 13–18

    * Launch a peer-led podcast or YouTube channel on local ecology

    * Create a Secret Library Club at your school

    * Map where nature is thriving or hurting in your town

    * Interview local elders about how nature has changed

    Adults & Elders

    * Host an intergenerational circle

    * Mentor an Eco-Guardian-in-Training

    * Organize a sharing table or “Freecycle” event

    * Write a legacy letter to your family about your values as an Eco-Guardian

    What’s your own “micro-mission”? Want to invent one and share it below as a comment?

    Your Activation Invitation

    Let’s wrap this with something simple and doable—a starting point for your next step:

    Pick one action.Start small if that’s where your energy is. Or dream big and declare your own Impossible Mission—one that calls you to rise beyond what you’ve ever done before.

    Don’t worry about the whole staircase.Just take the next step that feels joyful, aligned, and yours.

    Mini-Mission:

    Pick one quadrant this week:

    * Being – Meditate, breathe, or flow in nature.

    * Doing – Take one small aligned mission.

    * Relating – Call a friend, thank a teacher, join a group.

    * Creating – Start something. Anything. A ripple. A garden. A letter.

    Let me know what purposeful action you’ll take on this week in the comments:

    What’s your “project spark”? What’s one small way you’re stepping forward?

    We’re in this together. And it all matters more than we know.

    With purpose,—Brad (aka W. Bradford Swift, Eco-Guardian-in-Training, author of One Cause)



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    12 min
  • Becoming the Kind of Person Who Acts

    For a long time, I thought the solution was just doing more.More writing. More coaching. More composting. More advocacy.I thought the world needed me in action.

    And it does.

    But what I’ve come to understand—what life has been teaching me, especially over the past few years—is that before we change the world, we must change our relationship to the world. That’s really what One Cause is all about.

    Releasing the four Great Untruths and embracing and living from the four Great Truths.

    And that requires becoming someone new. Not inauthentically, not by trying to be someone else, but by growing into the next expression of who we truly are.

    That’s the journey I’ve been on.That’s the invitation of One Cause.That’s what this article and podcast episode is about.

    A Vow to Grow

    I wake each morning now with a quiet ritual—what I call my One Cause Daily Protocol. It’s simple. I sit, I breathe, and I re-commit. Not just to writing or activism or checking items off a to-do list. But to being a person who lives as if the Four Great Truths are real, trustworthy, and the foundation for a regenerative future.

    I won’t share the whole thing here (it’s long and sacred to me), but I’ll give you a piece of it:

    “Even while living in a world and culture shaped for hundreds of years by the Four Great Untruths, I choose to dedicate my life to living in alignment with the Four Great Truths—to the best of my ability.”

    “This is, without a doubt, an impossible mission for me… and yet, it is also the next level of my Life On Purpose journey, which began in earnest in 1996.”

    That was nearly 30 years ago.Now, at 76, I’m choosing to level up again.

    Not to “save the world” but to live in service to it.

    That choice shows up in my morning meditations, in my rhythm of writing, in the creation of the Loving Homestead, and in the launch of the Eco-Guardian Youth Project.

    But most of all, it shows up in who I’m becoming.

    Some days I do this with a steady heart and a strong spine. Other days, I’m tired or anxious or distracted. I fall short. But I come back. Because this isn’t about perfection. It’s about purposeful practice.

    The Compass for Becoming

    One of the tools that’s helped me orient this journey is a framework adapted from Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory—a way of seeing ourselves and our actions in four interrelated dimensions:

    * Being – Who am I becoming?

    * Doing – What actions am I taking?

    * Relating – Who am I walking with?

    * Creating – What am I contributing to the world?

    This simple compass reminds me that inspired action is not just about what I accomplish out there. It’s about what I cultivate in here—and how I connect it all together.

    Let me walk you through how these quadrants have shown up in my life… and how they might serve you, too.

    Being: The Inner Ground of Inspired Action

    When we speak of action, we often rush past the inner world—the emotions, habits, and self-perceptions that shape how we show up. But as I’ve learned (again and again), becoming the kind of person who takes inspired action begins inside.

    For me, this has meant cultivating flow states—both on the pickleball court and at the writing desk. It’s not just about playing better or writing faster. It’s about discovering that place where action and awareness merge. Flow reminds me that I’m capable of more than I think—and that joy, not fear, can power progress.

    It’s also meant learning emotional agility.I used to believe that if I felt anxious or overwhelmed, I needed to “fix it” before moving forward. Now, I’m learning to walk with those emotions. To listen to them. To let them sharpen my focus rather than steal my power.

    And perhaps most of all, I’ve discovered the power of eudaimonic joy—that deeper kind of fulfillment that comes not from getting what I want, but from living in alignment with what matters. Purpose. Service. Connection. These are the renewable fuels of a regenerative life.

    Doing: Hero Training in Daily Life

    It’s one thing to feel inspired. It’s another to act on it.

    One of my core commitments lately has been to take daily actions, no matter how small, that strengthen my alignment. I think of it as hero training—not in a flashy, Marvel-movie kind of way, but in the ordinary, real-world sense of being someone others can count on.

    For me, that includes:

    * Moving my body with intention (pickleball is my dojo)

    * Journaling my thoughts, doubts, and dreams

    * Tackling micro-missions like writing letters, planting pollinators, or simply sharing a Substack note that might ripple outward

    Small doesn’t mean insignificant.Small is how everything starts.

    Relating: Who We Walk With

    One of the biggest breakthroughs I’ve had in the One Cause journey is realizing that I don’t need to do it all alone. In fact, I can’t.

    Whether it’s building the Loving Homestead with Ann…Or coaching a client who’s writing a legacy-worthy novel…Or participating in organizing a Community After Hours with my friend, Kerry…I’m discovering that action becomes more joyful—and more sustainable—when it’s done in community.

    Even this project—this article you’re reading—is an act of co-creation. Between you and me. Between human intelligence and (yes) artificial intelligence. Between idea and action. So if you’ve been feeling like you need to “figure it all out” before stepping forward… let that go. Find your circle (In fact, this may be it, or at least one of them). Invite others in. Even one other person can shift everything. Let me know how I and others in this community can support your purposeful project(s).

    Creating: Acts of Regeneration

    I used to think “creative acts” meant writing books or starting movements. And sure, those count. But I’ve come to realize that any act that brings more life into the world is a creative act.

    Composting.Storytelling.Mending a shirt.Rewilding a corner of your backyard.Organizing a neighborhood seed swap.

    Every one of these is a regenerative gesture—a way of saying: “This world matters. I choose to be a part of its healing.”

    So don’t wait for the big moment.Start creating now.Even small ripples can become waves.

    You Are the One

    I’ll end this Substack with a reminder that changed me the first time I heard it:

    “You are the one you’ve been waiting for.”

    No superhero is coming.No perfect plan will arrive.But you? You are already enough to begin.

    So here’s my invitation:

    Mini-Activation

    This week, choose one of the four quadrants:

    * Being – Meditate, breathe, or flow.

    * Doing – Take one small mission aligned with your values.

    * Relating – Call a friend, thank a teacher, or join a local circle.

    * Creating – Make something. Anything. Then share it.

    And if you feel moved, let me know in the comments or let’s chat about it:What’s one small way you’re becoming the person the future needs?

    We’re in this together.And we’re just getting started.

    With purpose,Brad (aka W. Bradford Swift, Eco-Guardian-in-Training & Founder of One Cause)

    One Cause is for those who know we’re meant to live in deeper harmony with the Earth—and each other. If this vision resonates, subscribe to receive weekly reflections and bold possibilities for our shared future.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    12 min
  • What is an Eco-Guardian-in-Training? Are You One?

    Not long ago and more nights than I care to remember, two questions kept me awake at night.

    What is an Eco-Guardian-in-Training (EGIT)?And are you one?

    The questions wouldn’t let me go. They prompted me to remember a time from my past when I co-founded the Life On Purpose Institute and, for 22 years, watched thousands of people begin their journey by taking the Life On Purpose Self-Test. That simple tool became the first step for countless people clarifying and living into their Divinely Inspired Purpose.

    And it hit me: maybe it’s time for a new self-test.

    Not for purpose alone this time, but for something bigger:

    To help people of all ages — from curious 10-year-olds to wise elders — discover where they are on the journey of becoming an Eco-Guardian.

    A Bit of Backstory

    Long before One Cause had a name, I was writing eco-fiction for young people with this mission in my heart:

    To inspire young people to become joyful lifelong readers and responsible, caring stewards of the Earth and all her inhabitants.

    As One Cause evolved, a new name surfaced for that vision: Eco-Guardians.

    Eco-Guardians aren’t superheroes (though they sometimes feel like it). They are ordinary people who remember the extraordinary truth: we are not separate from nature, but part of it. Their calling is simple and profound—to care for Earth, her creatures, and each other.

    But how do we know if we’re on this path?

    That’s where the Eco-Guardian Self-Test comes in.

    The Self-Test: Three Paths, One Journey

    We’ve created three versions of the Self-Test, each tuned to where you are in life:

    * Eco-Guardian Foundations Test (ages 10–14): 10 questions to help younger seekers explore belonging, kindness, curiosity, and gratitude.

    * Eco-Guardian Growth Test (ages 15–18): 15 questions that stretch into resilience, systems thinking, and identity.

    * Eco-Guardian Mastery Test (adults & elders): 20 questions for those ready to weave stewardship, reciprocity, and mentorship into daily life.

    Each test is short, fun, and designed to help you see both your strengths and your growth edges.

    And like any true initiation, there are stages of progress: Explorer → Helper → Hero. Awakening → Engaged → Thriving. And ultimately: Stewardship.

    Why It Matters

    The Self-Test isn’t about a score. It’s about remembering who we really are.

    Through myth, story, and the 20 Qualities of Eco-Guardianship, we are building not just a new kind of human being — but remembering who we’ve been all along, before the Four Great Untruths clouded our way.

    How to Take the Test

    Here’s where it gets fun. The Self-Test will live inside the Secret Library, alongside Ra-Kit’s Initiation and other treasures. (All of which are available on a “Pay What You Will” format.)

    Why? Because this isn’t just a “quiz.” It’s a portal.

    When you step through, you’ll not only gain access to the Eco-Guardian Self-Test Report (with all three versions), but you’ll also be joining a circle of people committed to remembering and living as Eco-Guardians (and who has access to the growing resources found within the Eco-Guardian Secret Library.

    An Invitation

    Take the test. Share your results here either as a comment or join this week’s chat:

    Then, invite your kids, grandkids, students, or friends to do the same.

    Share with the community:

    * What stage are you on the path?

    * What quality are you most proud of?

    * What’s one edge you’re excited to grow?

    Let’s see what happens when we take this journey not just alone, but together.

    Because being an Eco-Guardian is not a title. It’s a lifelong practice.And it begins with a single step of remembering.

    We’re growing a community of Eco-Guardians-In-Training so join this movement within the larger movement of the Great Turning. Subscribe for free or with a paid subscription.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wbradfordswift.substack.com/subscribe
    8 min

About Gaia's Call

From the publisher's feed

Taste the sweet nectar of stories and articles that make your spirit soar. Gaia's Call is the whispered secret between the pages, urging you to become an Eco-Guardian for our planet's wonders. 📚✨…