In this companion episode, hosts Autumn Brown and Nicole Diroff sit down to reflect on the deep, ancestral wisdom shared by Zen Master Norma Wong in our previous episode. How do we move from the "terrifying" experience of systemic collapse into a place of collective resilience? Autumn and Nicole dive into the somatic and spiritual shifts required to live and lead in this time-place of collapse.

Notable Quote:

"If we are tapped into source and source reveals this great grand interconnectedness, there starts to surface these things that compel us... my experience says open yourself to it." — Nicole Diroff

Episode Summary: Following Autumn's conversation with Norma Wong, Nicole and Autumn process the heavy yet hopeful themes of "source ways," the breakdown of Western "individualism," and the necessity of accompaniment. Nicole shares a vulnerable story of navigating a moment of crisis, illustrating how our nervous systems respond to collapse and how we can find our way back to resonance through collective "beingness" rather than just "doingness."

Key Themes and Conversations:

• Processing the "Slipstream": Nicole and Autumn discuss the somatic experience of living through the "polycrisis" and the importance of recognizing our own nervous system's response to systemic duress.
• Breaking the Construct of Individualism: A reflection on how Western "hyper-individualism" creates a sense of isolation during crisis and the invitation to return to a more foundational "source way" of being.
• Accompaniment in Action: Nicole shares a powerful personal narrative about witnessing a high-stress incident and how it served as a microcosm for the larger systemic "breakdowns" we are all witnessing.
• Source vs. Strategy: Discussing why spiritual leadership requires being "tapped into source" before jumping into strategy, allowing our actions to be guided by a deep sense of interconnectedness.

Next Steps & Practice:

• Somatic Check-In: When you feel the "panic" of collapse—whether in a personal crisis or global news—take a moment to notice where that feeling lives in your body. Practice the "Breath of Resonance" discussed in Episode 5.
• Identify Your "Source Way": Reflect on the practices that help you feel connected to the whole of life. Is it singing? Storytelling? Silence? Find one way to prioritize that "beingness" this week.
• Practice Radical Presence: Look for a moment this week where you can offer presence rather than a solution. How does it change the energy of the interaction when the relationship is the first response?

People and Resources Mentioned:

• Norma Wong, Zen Master and teacher.
• Who We Are Becoming Matters by Norma Wong (North Atlantic Books).
• The BTS Center

Connect With Us: What stirred for you in this conversation? We love to hear your voices and reflections.

• Email: podcast@thebtscenter.org
• Voice Message: 207-200-6986
• Video: Watch full-length video episodes and find bonus material on The BTS Center’s YouTube channel.
• Website: Visit www.climatechangedpodcast.org for transcripts and discussion guides.

Blessing: May you be fed, may you be watered. May you grow towards the sun. Feel held in love, worthy of love.

Coming Up Next: Join us next week for a conversation with Katie Mears as we explore how we communicate risk and build collective solutions in a changing world.

In a time of "polycrisis" and systemic collapse, it is easy to feel unmoored by the intensity of the "slipstream". In this episode, Autumn Brown sits down with Zen Master and Native Hawaiian teacher Norma Wong to explore a different way of being. Together, they discuss the move from individual leadership to collective accompaniment, the importance of reconnecting to our "source ways," and how imagining a future is not a theoretical exercise but the necessary work of the present moment.

Grounding Practice

To help us settle into the space of this conversation, we begin with a musical grounding from Pax Ressler, a queer, non-binary artist, composer, and friend of The BTS Center. Their song, "Woven Together," is a sonic invitation to feel into the very interconnectedness—the kakou—that Norma Wong describes.

• The Practice: As you listen, allow the music to help you transition from the frantic "doingness" of your day into a state of presence. Let the lyrics remind you that we are part of a larger fabric of life, heart, and mind, woven into the future we are currently creating.

Key Themes and Conversations:

• Beyond Individual Leadership: Moving from the Western construct of the singular leader to kakou—an accumulated, experiential way of being in tangible cohesion with all beings.
• Accompaniment as a Natural State: Recognizing that our time is brief and shifting our daily behavior toward being a good guest and steward of the universe.
• The Slipstream and Systems Collapse: Understanding that in a "polycrisis," systems can only react rather than respond, necessitating a shift toward reconstituting human beingness at the community level.
• The "Source Way" vs. The "Cultural Way": Distinguishing between the cultural practices we can relearn and the deeper "source way" of being that ties us to all of indigeneity and to the earth itself.
• Imagination as Practical Work: Using storytelling and visioning to immediately implement the systems we will need, such as native plant nurseries for rebuilding after a disaster.
• Breathing as Community Practice: A grounding exercise in resonance and nervous system regulation.

Next Steps & Practice:

• The 80-10-10 Rule: Inspired by Sherri Mitchell's work, consider how you distribute your energy. Invest 10% in looking at what needs to change, 10% in holding back the tide of harm, and the final 80% in creating a reality that offers compassion, safety, equality, and sustainability for all.
• Practice Accompaniment: Identify a person or group in your community who needs presence rather than advice. Whether it is a family facing economic hardship or someone navigating a recent loss, let the relationship be the first response and let that connection guide what you do next.
• Ancestral Legacy: Reflect on what you are doing today that serves the "time beyond the collapse." How are you practicing being a good ancestor right now?

People and Resources Mentioned:

• Norma Wong, Zen Master, teacher, and author.
• Who We Are Becoming Matters by Norma Wong (North Atlantic Books, released Feb 2026).
• Pax Ressler, musician and composer of the song "Woven Together" featured in this episode.
• Sherri Mitchell, indigenous leader and attorney (referenced in the song and next steps).

Guest Bio: Norma Ryuko Kaweloku Wong Roshi is a Native Hawaiian and Haka Zen teacher. She serves as the Abbot of Enko Inn, an independent branch temple of Daihonzen Chozenji. An 86th-generation Zen Master, she has spent over 40 years applying Zen and indigenous values to transformational change. Her career has spanned community work, the Hawaii state legislature, and policy strategy, including leading negotiations over Native Hawaiian land and water rights . Today, she brings grounded wisdom to global ecological and spiritual crises.

Connect With Us:

We would love to hear what reflections are surfacing for you.

• Email: podcast@thebtscenter.org
• Voice Message: 207-200-6986
• Video: Find full-length video episodes and bonus clips on The BTS Center’s YouTube channel.

Blessing: May you be fed, may you be watered. May you grow towards the sun. Feel held in love, worthy of love.

Hosts Nicole Diroff and Autumn Brown reflect on Autumn’s profound conversation with climate chaplain Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner. They explore why radical honesty about our ecological reality is not an act of despair, but the foundation of true hope and agency.

As we navigate a world that feels increasingly like an "extended apocalypse," Nicole and Autumn discuss the "ministry of presence"—the practice of sitting with grief rather than trying to fix it. Their conversation alights on parenting, martial arts, and caring for one another in a world hungry for freedoms. They also dive into the biological "fight or flight" responses triggered by the climate crisis and how we can look to our ancestors and the "more-than-human" world for models of resilience and survival.

• Tending, Mending, Befriending: Shifting away from urgency-based "yelling" toward spiritual care that acknowledges deep overwhelm .
• The More Than Human World: Exploring our identity as one species among millions and learning survival strategies from the ecological world.
• The Sacred Act of Naming: How being honest about our grief and naming the "unknowable" creates a path to communion and hope .
• Practicing Freedom: Insights from Autumn’s martial arts practice on how discipline and collaboration create the capacity for spontaneity and choice .
• Agency in Care: Reclaiming our biological and spiritual drive to both give and receive care as a fundamental tool for resilience .

Inspired by the conversation, Autumn and Nicole invite you to engage in these small acts of spiritual care this week:

• Name Your Emotion: Pause long enough to name one specific emotion that climate change brings up for you.
• Share Your Feeling: Take that named emotion and share it with someone you trust.
• Risk Honesty: Find a setting to let others know you are concerned—whether by leading a prayer in your faith community or by writing a letter to your local paper.
• Mini-Rituals: Create a simple line of acknowledgment or a "closing homily" during a daily task or gathering to ground your actions in a larger purpose.
• Connect with Us: Share your own message, reflections, or sparking ideas by emailing podcast@thebtscenter.org or leaving a voice message at 207-200-6986.

• Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner: Climate change chaplain and guest from the previous episode. https://www.exploringapocalypse.com/
• David Abram: American ecologist and philosopher who coined the term "more than human world". https://www.davidabram.org/
• Robin Wall Kimmerer: Author noted for the essay comparing monoculture corn to "enslavement". https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com/
• Lament with Earth: A BTS Center program involving online gatherings for seasonal naming and grieving. https://thebtscenter.org/lament-with-earth-2025-2026/
• The Many: Liturgists and musicians who collaborated on the Lament with Earth offerings. https://www.themanyarehere.com/
• Frances Weller: Author and upcoming guest mentioned in relation to "longing for reciprocity." https://www.francisweller.net/
• How to Survive the End of the World: Autumn Brown’s podcast. https://endoftheworldshow.org/

Join us for our next episode, where we speak with Norma Wong (also known as Norma Ryuko Kawelokū Wong Roshi). Norma is a Native Hawaiian and Hakka Zen teacher, the abbot of Anko-in, and an 86th-generation Zen Master. We will explore how she applies Zen and Indigenous values to transformational change in a climate-changed world. Learn more about Norma Wong and her work: https://www.normawong.com/

In a world that feels like it’s unraveling, we often feel a desperate urge to "fix" our grief or solve the climate crisis single-handedly. But what if the work of this moment isn't about fixing, but about naming?

In this episode, Autumn Brown sits down with Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner, a climate change chaplain who specializes in accompanying people through the "unfixable." Together, they explore the sacred power of naming our feelings, the importance of moving through endings, and how spiritual leadership is less about providing answers and more about the courage to hold one another through uncertainty.

GROUNDING PRACTICE (Starts at 01:45)

We begin with a reading of the poem "Anthropocene Pastoral" by Catherine Pierce, read by the poet herself. This grounding practice invites us to look directly at the changing world and find our breath amid beauty and loss.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Power of Naming: Naming our climate grief is not a wall; it is a door. When we name what is true, we move from isolation into a shared reality.
• Survival as Legacy: We are all here because our ancestors survived "the end of the world" in various ways. We carry the capacity to move through endings and emerge changed but whole.
• Tending vs. Yelling: Moving away from "telling, yelling, and selling" climate alarmism toward "tending, mending, and befriending" our communities.
• Accompanying vs. Fixing: Spiritual leadership involves "walking with" people in their distress rather than trying to resolve the distress for them.

NEXT STEPS & PRACTICES

• Radical Honesty: Identify one climate-related grief you’ve been carrying. Share it with a friend or write it down. Notice how naming it shifts your relationship to the feeling.
• Ancestral Resilience: Reflect on an "ending" your ancestors survived. What qualities allowed them to come out on the other side?
• Ministry of Presence: Practice the sacred act of accompaniment. Listen to someone’s climate fears without offering solutions or "silver linings."

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• The BTS Center: https://thebtscenter.org
• Exploring Apocolypse with Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner: exploringapocalypse.com
• Catherine Pierce (Poet): https://catherinepiercepoet.com
• "Anthropocene Pastoral" (Poem): https://poets.org/poem/anthropocene-pastoral
• Anthropocene Pastoral Film (Clare Börsch): https://vimeo.com/1059000753
• How to Survive the End of the World Podcast: https://endoftheworldshow.org

CONNECT WITH US

What reflections are surfacing for you? We’d love to hear from you.

• Email: podcast@thebtscenter.org
• Voice Message: 207-200-6986
• Video Episodes: Search "The BTS Center" on YouTube.com

BLESSING

May you know that you are loved, that you are worthy of love, just as you are. And may you know that you are capable of great love.

In our previous episode, Autumn spoke with Tory Stephens, a climate fiction editor and co-founder of Imagine 2200 at Grist, about the profound power of storytelling. If you haven't listened to that conversation yet, don't worry—you can dive right into this episode! In fact, hearing this reflection first will give you a completely different lens when you do go back to listen to the interview.

In this episode, co-hosts Autumn Brown and Rev. Nicole Diroff sit down to unpack the incredible themes Tory raised. They explore why the climate movement desperately needs more imagination and how we can practically incorporate that imagination into our spiritual leadership.

In this conversation, Autumn and Nicole discuss:

• The Concept of "Thrutopia": Why we need stories that navigate the messy, realistic middle ground between the world we have now and the better world we are trying to build.
• Prefigurative Fiction: How dreaming about and writing down the future we want actually serves as the first step to bringing that reality into existence.
• Hope as a Daily Practice: Why practicing hope and imagining positive futures needs to be a regular discipline—just like going to church or taking out the compost!

Next Steps: Where Imagination Meets Practice The change we need won't happen alone—it grows in community. Here are two invitations from today’s conversation to carry these ideas into your shared lives:

• Creating Your Story of Tomorrow: Visit The BTS Center's Leadership Commons to access Creating Your Story of Tomorrow. This is a beautifully crafted facilitator guide and video developed by renowned environmental artist Eve Moser. Designed for adult education facilitators and congregation leaders, this resource will guide you and your community through a collaborative workshop to envision the future together.
• Write Your Own Flash Fiction: Sit down—alone, with a friend, or with a group—and write a piece of "flash fiction" (a very short story with a beginning, middle, and end) about a future you would love to inhabit.

Share Your Visions With Us! We want to hear your flash fiction and find out what you are creating or discovering! Email us at podcast@thebtscenter.org or leave a voice message at 207-200-6986. Your insights might ripple out through future episodes.

Explore More:

• Learn more about The BTS Center: https://thebtscenter.org/
• Find transcripts, discussion guides, and full-length video episodes at www.climatechangedpodcast.org
• Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBTSCenter

In the Season Four premiere of the Climate Changed podcast, Autumn Brown engages in a deeply inspiring conversation with Tory Stephens, a storyteller, cultural worker, and climate justice advocate.

They explore the transformative power of climate fiction and its role in helping us envision the future. Tory discusses his groundbreaking work at Grist, where he co-founded Imagine 2200, an initiative that asks a simple yet radical question: What if we wrote stories not about what we fear but about what we hope to create? The discussion dives into how imagination connects with responsibility, how storytelling serves as a profound form of spiritual leadership, and why envisioning a new reality is essential for climate justice.

Link to discussion guide and transcript www.climatechangedpodcast.org

Grounding: To begin the episode, producer Peterson Toscano leads a grounding exercise by sharing a short, speculative story. Modeled on the type of climate fiction discussed in the episode, the story features a message from "Timothy Meadows from the Future" giving a broadcast from the year 2115. Timothy explores the history of how human relationships with pets and animals shifted and adapted in the face of climate change. This strange and wonderful story sets the stage for the episode by letting imagination lead and inviting listeners to envision a workable, adaptable future.

Resources & Concepts Mentioned:

• Thrutopia: Coined by philosopher Rupert Read and popularized by author Manda Scott through the Thrutopia Masterclass, a Thrutopian narrative threads the needle between utopia and dystopia. It focuses on writing grounded, plausible, and inspiring route maps that show exactly how we navigate through our current struggles to reach a future we'd be proud to leave behind.
• Octavia E. Butler & Bloodchild: Autumn quotes the legendary science fiction author—who was the first African American woman to reach mainstream success in the genre—and her collection Bloodchild and Other Stories, reflecting on how sci-fi stimulates necessary imagination and creativity.
• Humans of New York: The iconic photoblog that Tory credits with changing his perspective early in his career, teaching him the unparalleled power of human-centric storytelling over dry statistics.
• Visionary Fiction: A framework of world-building and storytelling that Autumn Brown and her sister use in their writing retreats, which actively wrestles with the sacred and reclaims spiritual practices.
• Dream Seeds: A term favored by Grist and Imagine 2200 to describe stories that plant concrete, hopeful visions of how society could be organized completely differently.
• Eve Moser & Creating Your Story of Tomorrow: An adult education facilitator guide and video created by renowned environmental artist Eve Moser, available on the BTS Center's Leadership Commons.

Guest Bio: Tory Stephens is a storyteller, cultural worker, and climate justice advocate. At Grist, he co-founded Imagine 2200, a climate-fiction powerhouse, and has produced two anthologies of climate fiction: Afterglow and Metamorphosis. He now focuses on publishing climate fiction year-round and building partnerships that connect culture, justice, and climate solutions. In addition to his work at Grist Magazine, Tory is also involved with the Hollywood Climate Summit.

Connect with Tory & Explore His Work:

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/torystephens
• Bluesky: @torystephens.bsky.social
• Imagine 2200 (Grist): About Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction
• Read the Anthology: Imagine 2200: We Are What We Nurture
• Read the Book: Afterglow (The New Press)
• More from Tory: Shaping the Future Through Climate Fiction (Podcast Interview)

Thank Yous: We want to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who made this episode possible:

• Tory Stephens, for sharing his incredible vision, imagination, and wisdom with us.
• Peterson Toscano, producer of Climate Changed, for producing this episode and for providing the wonderful grounding for this episode.
• The BTS Center team, for your ongoing support and for providing the resources and platform that make this podcast possible.

How do we live, love, and practice leadership in a climate-changed world?

Welcome to Season 4 of the Climate Changed podcast, a project from The BTS Center! This season, we are diving deep into spiritual leadership and imagination. Join our hosts—Autumn Brown (artist, theologian, mother, and freedom worker) and Rev. Nicole Diroff (Associate Director at The BTS Center)—as they explore what faithful leadership looks like in times of immense uncertainty.

Throughout this season, we’ll hear from spiritual leaders, artists, and healers who are helping us navigate the overlapping crises of our time with courage, connection, and community.

This season's powerful lineup includes:

• Katie Mears on navigating the front lines of disaster response and communicating risk.

• Tory Stephens on the power of speculative fiction and imagination as our greatest climate tools.

• Norma Wong, Zen master and Native Hawaiian leader, on how we breathe together and reconstitute our humanity through collapse.

• Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner on finding holiness in uncertainty and rooting into our values when we lose our ground.

• Francis Weller on the necessity of ritual, and how grief and love are two sides of the same bridge.

Before the first episode drops, we want to celebrate this new chapter with you. Join hosts Nicole and Autumn, along with producers Ben Yosua-Davis and Peterson Toscano, for a live, interactive launch event.

This isn't your average, boring webinar. We'll be diving into a deep conversation about the current pressure points in American society, politics, and justice, and how they intersect with our climate reality.

When: Monday, March 16th, 2026 at 7:30 PM Eastern

Where: Online! Register for free at thebtscenter.org What to expect at the launch party:

• Live conversations with several of our Season 4 guests

• Exclusive, behind-the-scenes video footage and bloopers

• Giveaways throughout the event!

Episode 1 drops Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, featuring a fantastic conversation with Tory Stephens on speculative storytelling and the futures we actually want to build.

Make sure you are subscribed so you don't miss an episode, and find more resources at www.climatechangedpodcast.com.

Climate change, spiritual leadership, climate resilience, Autumn Brown, Nicole Diroff, The BTS Center, disaster response, speculative fiction, climate storytelling, Zen practice, grief and ritual, climate justice, community building, navigating collapse, podcast launch event

• 00:00 - Exploring Spiritual Leadership & Imagination

• 00:24 - Meet Your Hosts: Autumn Brown & Nicole Diroff

• 00:44 - Katie Mears on Disaster Response

• 01:07 - Tory Stephens on Speculative Fiction

• 01:34 - Norma Wong on Breathing Through Collapse

• 02:21 - Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner on Holiness in Uncertainty

• 02:50 - Francis Weller on Ritual and Grief

• 03:52 - You're Invited: Season 4 Launch Event!

• 05:17 - Sneak Peek: Episode 1 with Tory Stephens