Living Library
A Curated Reading List for our Living Lab
Welcome to our Living Library, a continuously evolving collection of works that inform, inspire, and challenge the foundational thinking of our Living Lab. Here, you'll find a multidisciplinary reading list reflecting the values, research, and what has contributed to the vision behind Sumati Group, and our own curricula theory, The Sumati Concept and The Wondervention Effect, and our broader inquiries into systems change, spiritual inquiry, education, ecology, and the future of governance.
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My path has been shaped by a deep inquiry into systems, spirit, and story, a lifelong wondervention that has led me across continents, disciplines, and ancestral memory. The books in our Living Library are not just resources; they are companions on my own journey of building career capital rooted in integrity, wisdom seeking, and the courage to imagine otherwise.
This library reflects the independent study that have shaped my work, where academia meets the intuitive, and the future is built by those willing to ask the harder questions. This is a process and ongoing journey, and so the list will continue to evolve as we do…
~ Lisen Ydse Christiansen, Founder of Sumati Group
How to use this resource…
This searchable resource is designed to foster transparent knowledge-sharing, deepen our collective practice, and spark critical engagement. Whether you're a curious visitor, a dedicated changemaker, or a future collaborator, we invite you to explore, reflect, and inquire alongside us.
Each entry is tagged by theme and author, and organized by core focus area. We've included brief descriptions for each featured work, spanning historical and contemporary texts, books, whitepapers, and emerging thought leadership across disciplines, centuries, and literary styles.
➤ Browse or Search by author, or focus area.
➤ Find content aligned with your interests or your work.
➤ Use as a Syllabus Builder for programs, workshops, or community discussions.
Focus Areas
- African, Asian, Indigenous and Feminist Wisdom Traditions
- Complementary Manuscripts, White Papers, and Journals
- Consciousness, Inner Work & Spiritual Inquiry
- Critical Thinking, Logic & Epistemological Integrity
- Dialogical & Cognitive Models of Self
- Earth, Ecology & Post-Capitalist Imaginaries
- Ethics, Effective Altruism & Long-Term Futurism
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems & Ancestral Intelligence
- Mysticism, Imaginal Knowing, and Cultural Archetypes
- NeuroAwareness, Body Wisdom & Dialogical Mind
- Systems Innovation, Civic Infrastructure & Applied Ethics
- Systems Thinking, Regenerative Design & DAO Infrastructure
- Transformative Education & Participatory Methodologies
Authors
- Adrienne Maree Brown
- Bell Hooks
- Bhikhu Parekh
- Brian Christian
- Bruno Latour
- Carl Jung
- Carl Sagan
- Caroline Myss
- Caroline Van Eck
- Charles Eisenstein
- Christina Sharpe
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés
- Cole Arthur Riley
- D.Q. McInerny
- Daniel Christian Wahl
- Dante
- Darcia Narvaez
- David Graeber & David Wengrow
- Donella Meadows
- Donna Haraway
- Dr. David Frawley
- Eleanor Rosch
- Elias Ashmole
- Emanuel Swedenborg
- Eric A. Posner & E. Glen Weyl
- Ethan Kross
- Evan Thompson
- Francisco Varela
- Fred B. Eiseman Jr.
- Fritjof Capra & Pier Luigi Luisi
- Gary Zukav
- George Monbiot
- Giancarlo Dimaggio
- Henry Corbin
- Hubert Hermans
- Hugh Brody
- Iain McGilchrist
- Ira Shor & Paulo Freire
- Jacob K. Olupona
- John Dee
- Joshua Greene
- Kahlil Gibran
- Keith H. Basso
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Linda Tuhiwai Smith
- Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
- Malidoma Patrice Somé
- Margaret Wheatley & Deborah Frieze
- Melba Joyce Boyd
- Michael A. Singer
Ethics for the Long Now: A Reading List on Effective Altruism, Moral Imagination & Future Stewardship
Inspired by William MacAskill’s What We Owe the Future and Toby Ord’s The Precipice, this section challenges us to think beyond our lifetimes. Ethics, risk, and future stewardship converge in Roman Krznaric’s The Good Ancestor and Brian Christian’s The Alignment Problem, calling for responsibility that spans generations.
Why a Reading List?
As a Living Lab committed to evolving practice, we believe knowledge should be alive; shared, questioned, and continually reimagined. Learning is not a destination but a lifelong journey, beautifully symbolized by the Adinkra symbol Nkyinkyim, which speaks to the ever-unfolding path of growth, movement, and transformation.
This reading list is not static. It reflects our current constellation of inquiry, shaped by curiosity, context, and collective contribution. Your suggestions help it evolve. Let this be more than a bookshelf. Let it be a portal, into deeper knowing, brave conversations, and bold reimaginings of what’s possible.
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