Mindful Activism: From Anxiety to Agency (Episode #57)

Welcome to episode 57 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.In this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino are joined by Clover Hogan, climate activist and founder of the Force of Nature NGO. Together, they discuss activism in times of emerging polycrisis, dealing with growing anxiety, empowering young activists, and turning despair into fuel for change in the climate movement (and beyond) – at both collective and individual levels. 

Clover Hogan is a 24-year-old climate activist, researcher on eco-anxiety, and the founding Executive Director of Force of Nature – a youth non-profit mobilizing mindsets for climate action. She has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, consulted in the boardrooms of Fortune 50 companies, and helped students in more than 50 countries take action. Clover has taken the stage alongside global change-makers such as Jane Goodall and Vandana Shiva, and interviewed the 14th Dalai Lama, while her TED Talk has been viewed almost two million times. 

In addition, Clover shares about her first retreats in Plum Village (and why it is her favorite place on Earth) and how Thay’s teachings have impacted her activism; the pressure, as a teen activist, “to be optimistic and determined”; stepping out of her “bubble of climate privilege”; avenues to creating a regenerative organizational culture; the collective consciousness of the youth movement; lessons learnt from running Force of Nature; fear, disillusionment, and despair in the climate movement; working with intentionality; old practices for new activism; why a spiritual practice is essential; and much more. 

Brother Phap Huu and Jo contribute leadership guidance from different perspectives; relevant stories from Thich Nhat Hanh’s own activism; teachings from Buddhism and Engaged Buddhism; advice about accessing the wisdom already inside us all; and mindful ways and practical tools for engaging with ‘the other side’ and showing up in a world in crisis – as an activist, but also in other roles.The episode ends with a guided meditation from the Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet online course produced by the Plum Village community. 

Thank you for listening. Enjoy!

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/

And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ 

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources 

Clover Hoganhttps://www.cloverhogan.com/  

The Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet online coursehttps://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet 

Lazy dayshttps://plumvillage.org/library/clips/the-art-of-being 

Polycrisishttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polycrisis 

Dharma Talks: ‘True Love and the Four Noble Truths’https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/true-love-and-the-four-noble-truths 

Retreats Calendarhttps://plumvillage.org/retreats/retreats-calendar#filter=.region-eu 

Christiana Figuereshttp://christianafigueres.com/#/ 

The Organic Happy Farmshttps://plumvillage.org/community/happy-farm 

‘51 Mental Formations’https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation 

COP26https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/cop26 

Limited liability companies (LLCs)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company 

The Stonewall uprisinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots 

The civil rights movementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movement 

Hollyhockhttps://hollyhock.ca/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels’ https://plumvillage.org/library