Excerpt – The Essential Ingredient: Remaking Ourselves in Times of Crisis by Keri Mangis
Synopsis
What if the crises of our time are not simply problems to solve—but invitations to transform?
In a world marked by climate catastrophe, political upheaval, social fragmentation, and the erosion of community, many people feel overwhelmed or powerless. We are told to remain hopeful, stay positive, and trust that solutions will emerge. But what if hope alone is not enough?
In The Essential Ingredient: Remaking Ourselves in Times of Crisis, author and TEDx speaker Keri Mangis argues that the real work of transformation begins elsewhere—within ourselves.
Drawing on Jungian psychology, shadow work, and decades of personal exploration, Mangis reframes crisis as a catalyst for profound personal and collective change. Rather than offering quick fixes or prescriptive formulas, she invites readers into a deeper process of self-reflection, healing, and discovery—one capable of reshaping both individual lives and the culture we inhabit.
Structured as a three-part journey through breakdown, reflection, and rebirth, the book guides readers through the psychological and spiritual terrain that genuine change requires. Along the way, Mangis explores the questions that arise when familiar structures collapse: Who are we when the old stories no longer hold? What does it mean to live awake in a time of cultural upheaval? And how might inner change contribute to rebuilding society itself?
Blending philosophy, psychological insight, and cultural reflection, this book speaks to anyone seeking meaning and direction in uncertain times—offering a clear-eyed look at the hidden patterns that shape our behavior, and the difficult but necessary work of confronting the shadows, both personal and collective, that influence our world.
The Essential Ingredient offers something rare: not a promise of easy answers, but an invitation to evolve. The true catalyst for remaking society may be the human being willing to do the inner work first, for we are the essential ingredient.
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This book will be released on August 25, 2026. Preorder it today!
Excerpt
Your Whole Self
A human being, a whole human being, contains all that we might label “good,” as well as that which we may consider “bad.” As the Perennial Truths teach us, we are a spectrum of all that is and everything in between the black-and-white version of the world we are expected to accept as the only reality.
Certainly, we have tendencies and potentials that, through repetition, emphasis, or encouragement, can become our norm, or our status quo. Those behaviors are not the only option, however. Unfortunately, we have grown so accustomed to revealing only limited aspects of ourselves that transformation of this magnitude feels impossible. But it is not so much that we cannot change. It is that we resist it out of fear of what might happen if we did.
Personality tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Enneagram reveal inclinations, not destiny. They open the door to understanding ourselves better, but they do not close it. As consciousness grows, potentialities within us spark and connect in ways they never could have before. Conversely, as we express all facets of ourselves, our consciousness expands. So, this is as good a reason as any to give your inner artist a whirl by signing up for a pottery class! Or try out your sarcastic humor at the next family gathering! Or bravely face and tell your fullest truth to someone you trust.
The takeaway is this: meditation practices are not the only way to raise consciousness. We can also accomplish it through living a bold, experientially-focused life. As consciousness rises and we recapture aspects of our whole selves, sweeping changes may occur in our personality. Radical transformation—the kind that makes us a unique and whole version of ourselves—is possible for human beings at any stage or time of life. And when we grow and expand, the Perennial Truths remind us, the world must follow. The alchemists knew this. Like the boy says in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, “[…W]hen we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” [1]
We can transform like a caterpillar into a butterfly. Not through magical thinking or by solely leaning into our light. No, this kind of transformation can only be done if we walk into the shadowlands and take our lives back.
About the Author
Keri Mangis is a TEDx speaker, multi award-winning author, and thought leader at the intersection of culture, consciousness, and transformation. Her work challenges us to move beyond self-help platitudes and into the radical courage required to face our collective crises. Drawing on two decades of study in yoga, Ayurveda, Jungian psychology, and alchemy, her writing has appeared in Spirituality & Health Magazine, the Star Tribune, and Elephant Journal. Her forthcoming book, The Essential Ingredient: Remaking Ourselves in Times of Crisis (Spring 2026), explores how breakdown can become a portal to personal and collective renewal.
