Subtle Activism: The Inner Dimension of Social and Planetary Transformation

Explores whether consciousness-based practices like meditation and prayer can contribute to social change.

Can awakened consciousness contribute to social change and, if so, how? David Nicol introduces the concept of “subtle activism” to describe the use of consciousness-based practices like meditation and prayer to support collective transformation, such as global meditation directed toward peaceful resolution of a conflict. Subtle activism represents a bridge between the consciousness movement and the movements for peace, environmental sustainability, and social justice. It is not a substitute for physical action but rather a potentially crucial component of a more integrated approach to social change. Although ancient lore is rife with tales of shamans and adepts intervening on spiritual levels for the benefit of humanity, this book is the first comprehensive treatment of this topic. Nicol grounds his consideration in the available scientific research and in dialogue with a broad range of thinkers in the fields of consciousness studies, transpersonal theory, and New Paradigm thought.

“Many good books are published each year but important books are harder to come by. One of the marks of a truly important book is that it challenges our deeply held convictions about what is real and what is possible in the world. It opens new intellectual horizons by showing us previously hidden connections. David Nicol’s Subtle Activism is an important book, a very important book.” — from the Foreword by Christopher M. Bache

“In the tradition of James’s Varieties of Religious Experience, David Nicol, a practitioner and researcher of subtle activism, has gathered extensive, convincing evidence for the effectiveness of meditation and other consciousness disciplines in service of ecological and social justice.” — Robert McDermott, PhD, former president of California Institute of Integral Studies and author of Steiner and Kindred Spirits

“Finally, a well-researched exploration of the multi-dimensional nature of real spiritual practice. David Nicol reminds us that spiritual work encompasses both individual and global transformation and has a vital role to play in an emerging planetary consciousness. Subtle Activism is both radical and also grounded in traditional spirituality, whose real potential has been sadly overlooked in our Western focus on the individual self. This is an important contribution to the emerging field of engaged spirituality, which looks beyond the individual to the real need of the present time—a shift in our collective consciousness and the birth of a new story for humanity and the Earth.” — Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, PhD, Sufi teacher and author of Spiritual Ecology

“This is a wise and indispensable book that should be in the backpack of everyone who wants to help change the world.” — Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

“Subtle Activism melds both spirit and passion in a work that is scholarly, wise, and profoundly relevant. It is a clarion call to a world careening out of balance—exhorting us to skillfully mine the vast resources of our inner lives and the collective field of higher consciousness to mobilize the transformation our world badly needs.” — James O’Dea, author of The Conscious Activist and former President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and Washington Office Director of Amnesty International

“David Nicol has brought all the fragmented pieces together to bring us to a full understanding of the subtle planes … His most important gift is to bring our understanding from individual consciousness to collective well-being. He has catalyzed a movement for world benefit through subtle activism. This is transformation at its best.” — Nancy Roof, PhD, founder and editor, Kosmos Journal

David Nicol teaches in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is also executive director and cofounder of the Gaiafield Project and cofounder of BeThePeace.