Remembering our Essential We through Transformative Experiences : An inquiry for transforming sustainability

Abstract: In this autoethnographic journey we aim to redefine sustainability by becoming aware of our current dominant thought paradigm which created the current sustainability issues in the first place. This thesis explores the nuances of growth in consciousness and a transformation in our internal capacities through transformative direct-intuitive practices and tools. We argue that the root of the current sustainability challenges can be seen as an amplification created through our dominant perception of reality. Therefore, a need for an intrinsic transformational shift is fundamental in order to fully act toward sustainability. ‘Sustainability’ is not a state of the world, nor only a pathway to a specific state. In this inquiry, sustainability is perceived as the ability to recognize the paradigmatic premises of the pathway that we are creating and to become aware of the implications of these premises in an effort that we may create more inter-relational, regenerative, fair, beautiful worlds. This includes transforming feelings of eco-anxiety, which we not only see as a symptom of the ‘external’ environmental crisis but also of our current relationship with ourselves.