Every Other Friday - Carter Phipps interview

Carter Phipps is an author, award-winning journalist, and leading voice in the emerging fields of evolutionary philosophy and spirituality. For the past decade, as executive editor of "EnlightenNext" magazine, he has been at the forefront of contemporary discourse on science and spirit, and his writings have played a key role in making important new thinking accessible to a wider audience.

 Tell me about Evolutionaries.

The book makes the case that there is a new type of vision and visionary emerging in the world today based around the idea of evolution. In the book, I introduce a movement of visionary scientists, philosophers, and spiritual thinkers who are quietly forging a new understanding of evolution that honors science, reframes culture, and radically updates spirituality.

Their contribution, I suggest, may one day be seen as equaling the Western Enlightenment in its dramatic, culture-changing power. I call them “Evolutionaries,” and this book provides the first popular guide to these exciting minds who are illuminating the secrets of our past and expanding the vistas of our future.

What drove you to write your book? Who did you write it for?

I was aware that no one had written a popular book describing this new movement and that it was an important cultural movement that needed to be seen and heard by a much larger cross-section of people. I felt this book would facilitate that. I hoped it would reach everyone from social activists to spiritual seekers to open-minded intellectuals to curious thought leaders and introduce a powerful new way of contextualizing and understanding human life and the journey of human civilization.

What were your biggest obstacles?

I lead a full and active life with lots of projects and distracting concerns. Finding the time to write and to research was my biggest challenge as well as learning (or perhaps teaching myself is a better way to say it) how to actually write a book as this was my first.

What are your productivity tips?

I wrote a significant percentage of my book in probably 10% of the time I worked on the book. The reason? Several book retreats were critical to the process. Focused writing retreats provided a deeper immersion in which much of the book took shape. I could spend many hours day to day and not be nearly as productive as I was in those dedicated retreats. In truth, I found both disciplined writing for several hours most days of the week combined with occasional focused retreats were crucial. And never underestimate the power of real deadlines to focus the mind.